South Australian state election first big opportunity for Cory Bernardi’s party

Australia Conservatives could prove highly influential in a fractured legislative council

He's the high-profile South Australian politician challenging the big parties with his own upstart political movement - and no, we're not talking about Nick Xenophon.

It is a sign of the deeply unusual manner in which the SA state election campaign is panning out that senator Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives party has hardly rated a mention, despite the 17 March contest shaping up as both the first big test and first major opportunity for the ex-Liberal's new political force.