STATE Parliament has used the last sitting day before the 2018 election to overhaul the way the state’s electoral boundaries are drawn.

Under the Greens’ changes, supported by the Government, the Dignity Party and Advance SA MP John Darley, the contentious “fairness clause” will be removed from electoral laws.

The changes will not affect the boundaries for this year’s election, and Government Minister Peter Malinauskas insists it has received legal advice from the Solicitor-General that the clause can be removed without a referendum.

The fairness clause was introduced after a 1993 referendum and governs redistributions to ensure the party that wins a majority of the two-party preferred vote is able to form majority government.

But Greens MLC Mark Parnell told Parliament the clause “ignored” minor parties and had been a failure.

media_camera Greens MLC Mark Parnell said the clause ignored minor parties and had failed.

It’s unclear what impact removing the clause would have on future boundaries, but a review of the amended laws will occur shortly after next year’s election.

The Government had previously sought to bring on a referendum to enshrine “One vote, one value” as the Electoral District Boundaries Commission’s chief consideration when drafting the electoral boundaries.

But after the push was set to be rejected by Mr Darley, it moved to support the Greens’ process.

The law passed the Upper House on Thursday afternoon and is expected to pass the Government-controlled Lower House by the end of sitting.

The change was met with fury from Opposition treasury spokesman Rob Lucas, who said the Government had struck a “dirty deal” with the Greens.

He said the Labor Party had only moved to abandon the fairness clause after the EDBC “finally” handed down boundaries that favoured the Liberal Party.

“This is something that will impact on the electability or not of governments forever hence,” he said.

Nick Xenophon — who could potentially hold the balance of power in either House of Parliament — has indicated he doesn’t support the fairness clause, meaning it could be impossible for the Liberal Party to reinstate it.