Coronavirus Restrictions

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (14:21): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Can the minister update the house on the Marshall Liberal government's Roadmap for Easing COVID-19 Restrictions to support our regional economies?

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE (Chaffey—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (14:22): Yes, I can. I thank the member for MacKillop for his very relevant question, particularly in the face of restrictions and what it means not only to regional South Australia but also for the opportunities that now present here in regional South Australia.

The regions have been through the wringer. They have seen significant headwinds over a long period of time with the continual drought which have ravaged a lot of the productive part of South Australia, particularly in the grain-growing belts, and which have had far-reaching impacts on the livestock sector, and, of course, our water catchments have been run down to a minimum.

Of course, the bushfires ravaged not only Yorketown, Cudlee Creek and Kangaroo Island but also in the member for MacKillop's electorate the Keilira fires ravaged a number of large properties, as well as the hailstorms that absolutely ate a lot of the horticulture in the Riverland. While we are also addressing some of the biosecurity threats in regional South Australia, the COVID-19 is at every person's front gate. Every person has been affected, touched and impacted on.

So, along the way and in the last recent days, we have seen a relaxing of some of those restrictions, and it is very good news but it is very carefully planned, and I want to commend the Premier, Professor Nicola Spurrier and the health team for the leadership they have given South Australians. I think that everyone in this place would commend where South Australia sits through very, very clear leadership and guidance for every South Australian to be the beneficiary.

South Australia, and particularly regional South Australia, is now known as one of the safest places on the globe. We have led the nation in our response to the COVID-19 outbreaks, and what it has meant to regional South Australia is that we have seen a level of isolation as a natural piece of living in regional South Australia. But it has hurt the local regional economies, particularly with tourism, and that slow lifting of restrictions will see people starting to filter back out onto the roads, back up into our regions, to stimulate those local regional economies. Obviously, tourism is a huge part of that and it has, over recent years, become a significant part of those economies.

As the Minister for Environment has said, the parks are a great open space for people to explore as well as making sure that, when they do go out to the regions, they support the local businesses: the small businesses, those family businesses that are relying on the passing trade as well as providing services to that sector. It's also a reason why we moved the Regional Growth Fund forward—so that we could create a stimulus for those local businesses in regional South Australia.

It's also really important to note that there is a huge range of stimulus spending by the taxpayer administered by this Marshall Liberal government in helping that economy bubble along. Now, as we lift restrictions, the biggest beneficiaries will be the economic beneficiaries of that lifting of restrictions. The regions of South Australia are very satisfied with the slow lifting of restrictions. I myself know that in my electorate of Chaffey people are very guarded with allowing too many people to come into their electorate. We know that regional South Australia is strong, it is resilient, it will be stronger than before and that, also, #RegionsMatter.