Great State Voucher Scheme

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (14:37): My question is to the Premier. Why were Great State vouchers worth more in the marginal electorate of Adelaide than they were in regional South Australia?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:37): I don't like the insinuation in that question whatsoever.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I think the sector will be quite alarmed by the assertion in that question. It should be obvious to anybody in this parliament, and certainly the Labor Party spokesperson on tourism, that the CBD in South Australia has been very, very hard hit. For her to assert in her question that this was a marginal government seat is absolutely disgraceful—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Lee!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —but it's exactly and precisely what we have come to expect from Labor, who are always talking down the state. It was a disgraceful—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —assertion and I think the shadow minister might like to reflect and ultimately apologise to the many businesses in—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Lee is warned.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —the City of Adelaide who have been doing it extraordinarily tough. I have had the opportunity to speak to very many business owners and employees.

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Playford is warned for a second time.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: They would be disgusted, disgusted with the assertion that the shadow minister has made. The CBD has been doing it tough in South Australia and we have been backing the CBD.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: In fact, the interventions that we have made in South Australia have been very much welcomed by the CBD. One of the things that we have been doing for months now is to message people to get back to work. We have been frustrated in this quest, which has had a detrimental effect on businesses in the CBD. We have had—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I was struggling myself. We are now a significant way through question time. The Premier has the call. I remind members on my right and on my left that, when a question has been asked, the minister who is answering the question is entitled to be heard in silence. The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Thank you very much, sir. As I was saying, we have been working very hard with the businesses in the CBD. One of the things that we have been doing is messaging businesses to say, 'Come back to the CBD. It is safe to come back to the CBD.' We now have the highest population, if you like, back in the CBD of any capital city in the country, which is helping to stand up businesses and, importantly, employment.

One of the reasons why the vouchers had a higher value in the CBD on all nights except for Saturday night was because that is where the problem was. We didn’t have people coming in to the CBD; we did have them going to regional South Australia. We even had them going into suburban South Australia. What we have done is to—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —move from the big, broad brushstrokes to a more nuanced approach to supporting those businesses and employees who are doing it tough. I go back to the fundamental issue that the shadow minister was trying to assert: this is done for some political gain. What she needs to understand and what this parliament I am sure already understands is that many of the people who work in the CBD are not voters in the CBD; in fact, they are voters in her very own electorate, so she is talking down her own electorate, her colleagues' electorates, every single person in South Australia—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —by trying to put her grubby political overlay on a very important program to support employment in this state. We are in the midst of a global pandemic—a global pandemic, which, by the way, the people of South Australia are working with the government to make the best of, to optimise performance, to create as many jobs as possible, to provide confidence for further investment in South Australia. It is a pity the opposition couldn't do the same.

Mr Malinauskas: We are allowed to ask questions. That is sort of the way it is supposed to work.

The SPEAKER: Order, the leader! Before I call the member for Ramsay, I warn the member for Cheltenham for a first time, I call to order the deputy leader and I warn the leader. Member for Ramsay.