Following the 2014 election, Labor went from minority to majority government when Nat Cook won the 2014 Fisher by-election by five votes from a 7.3 percent two-party swing.

University of Adelaide Professor of Politics Clem Macintyre said that after John Bannon and the State Bank collapse, Rann had to re-establish Labor's credentials as an economic manager as a matter of urgency, and "in that sense Rann had a whole lot of priorities to concentrate on that Don Dunstan didn't even think about", with a legacy built on economic achievements, achieving the triple-A credit rating, as well as its capacity to deliver infrastructure projects.

Labor went from minority to majority government when Nat Cook won the 2014 Fisher by-election by five votes from a 7.3 percent two-party swing which was triggered by the death of Such.

Lewis' decision was controversial, prompting Kerin to announce that since the Liberals had won a bare majority of the two-party vote, he would stay in office until Labor demonstrated it had support on the floor of the House of Assembly.

In his first term Rann announced: a total ban on the further privatisation of state assets; the introduction of shop trading on Sundays and weekday evenings across the Adelaide metro area;[3] legislated to raise the school leaving age for the first time in 42 years to 16 (later to 17);[4] a central commitment to restore the state's finances to a AAA credit rating;[5] established the Economic Development Board headed by mining magnate Robert Champion de Crespigny; launched a successful campaign to secure the construction of new Air Warfare Destroyers in Port Adelaide and committed the government to build the $400 million Techport maritime precinct and shiplift.

Rann and Attorney-General Michael Atkinson launched a major law and order initiative with the toughening of laws and sentencing for a wide range of crimes including bushfire arson;[9] a big increase in police numbers[10] and the introduction of DNA testing of prisoners as well as those charged or suspected of crimes, with the most wide reaching legislation in Australia.

Rann's government also tackled poor school retention rates with the ICAN initiative[13] and the introduction of the comprehensive Every Chance for Every Child home visiting program for all new babies and their parents.

[15] In 2002 Rann announced and funded the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence program, an idea he developed in Opposition, which brought leading intellectuals from around the world to Adelaide to assist him and the government to initiate reforms and tackle public policy challenges as varied as climate change, early childhood education, city planning and design, ageing policy and science education.

[17] In England in June 2002 Rann met with WOMAD founder Peter Gabriel to secure the future of WOMADelaide and make it an annual event.

In October 2003 Rann and Health Minister Stevens opened state of the art maternity, obstetrics and gynecology sections as well as a new women's and children's area at the Lyell McEwin.

In February 2003 the Rann government approved funding for the construction of a $14 million acute mental health building at the Flinders Medical Centre.

[23] Rann was comfortably re-elected in 2006, taking 28 seats to the Liberals' 15—to date, Labor's largest parliamentary majority since the abolition of the Playmander.

University of Adelaide Professor of Politics Clem Macintyre said that after the State Bank collapse, Rann had to re-establish Labor's credentials as an economic manager as a matter of urgency, and "in that sense Rann had a whole lot of priorities to concentrate on that Dunstan didn't even think about", with a legacy built on economic achievements, achieving the triple-A credit rating, as well as its capacity to deliver infrastructure projects.

[33] In September 2008 Rann announced that seven time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong would make his comeback into professional road racing in the 2009 Adelaide event.

[34] On 11 September 2007, Rann announced that the state government would fund the construction of a new desalination plant to guarantee Adelaide's water supply.

[citation needed] In October 2007, Rann opened an extension of the Glenelg tram line through the city to North Terrace and Morphett Street.

Some commentators put the poll slump down to "labour movement ructions" over the underfunded WorkCover liability (see 2008 Parnell–Bressington filibuster), consolidation of rural health services, and the continued degradation of the River Murray.

[39][40] In February 2008, Rann announced that South Australians would be paid 10 cents for every can or bottle they recycled by doubling the container deposit levy.

[43] The 2009 Frome by-election sparked by former Liberal Premier Rob Kerin's resignation from parliament saw Labor pick up a small increase in the two-party-preferred vote.

Successful Frome candidate and independent MP Geoff Brock would later prove instrumental to the formation of a fourth-term Labor government.

[45] In February 2010 Rann, accompanied by US Deputy Secretary of Defense William J Lynn, opened the Techport maritime hub in Port Adelaide to underpin the $8 billion Air Warfare Destroyer construction and future defence projects.

[48] And on 27 February Rann and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd unveiled plans for the $200 million SA Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) to be built adjacent to the new Royal Adelaide Hospital.

At a Labor fundraiser at the National Wine Centre on 1 October 2009, a man later identified as her husband was observed to have hit Rann in the face several times with a rolled-up magazine.

[58] The following month, during a televised debate as part of the state election campaign, Rann also apologised for any stress that the friendship may have caused.

[62][63] The Rann Labor government won a third four-year term at the 2010 state election with 26 of 47 seats though with only 48.4 percent of the two-party preferred vote.

[65] Public sector budget cuts due to decreased tax receipts stemming from the financial crisis of 2007–2008 caused protest amongst unionists and other traditional Labor voters.

In May 2011, after years of negotiations, Rann joined with Federal Defence Minister Stephen Smith and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson to announce that large areas of the Woomera Prohibited Area, the largest defence testing reserve in the world, would be opened up for mining, allowing the future exploitation of mineral deposits estimated at billions of dollars.

The subsequent Newspoll saw the two-party vote narrow to 46–54, a swing against Labor of just 2.4 percent, however there was no statistical change in Rann's personal satisfaction-dissatisfaction ratings.

[72][73][74][75][76] In the last weeks of Rann's premiership, he signed off on a record $30 billion Olympic Dam mining deal with BHP,[77] opened the new South Australian Police headquarters,[78] and oversaw the commencement of operation of the Port Stanvac Desalination Plant.

The first involved a group of activists opposed to uranium mining, who entered the event wearing faux radiation protection suits and carrying a large banner.