Member for MacKillop

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:43): My question is to the Premier. Why is the member for MacKillop so publicly canvassing the prospect of quitting the Liberal Party under your leadership?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:43): I think there has been some media attention on this issue. I think that there is a great level of frustration from many members and, in fact, many South Australians with regard to the exemptions process for people coming into South Australia, and I think this is very natural. I think that there are many very difficult stories for people who are stranded interstate at the moment.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: As I was saying, there have been about 11,000 applications now for people to come back into South Australia. Some of the stories that we are hearing are very compelling. But, at the same time, we have been, if you like, given that requirement to balance the need for people to come back in with the need to keep South Australia safe, and that's not an easy decision to take, I will be honest with you.

We have to make sure that we do everything we can to protect South Australians, to keep our state safe and our economy strong. I was saying in a previous answer that we have more people in full-time employment now than any time before in the history of the state. Whilst this is causing a lot of people hardship, these are the sacrifices that South Australians have collectively made that have made sure that we have kept the Delta variant at bay for such a long period of time.

Of course, we are very strongly advocating for people to get vaccinated here in South Australia. It's not mandatory, and I make that point very strongly. We have seen some incredible scenes around the country with regard to calls for different areas of employment to be made mandatory. We haven't done any sort of call to make any areas mandatory over and above what the national cabinet has decided.

But what I would say is that we are strongly advising people to get vaccinated. We in South Australia are going to stick with this plan, this national plan, to make sure that we can get to this 80 per cent double vaccinated, 16 and over, and do that before Christmas, when we can end state lockdowns and we can end statewide lockouts. That's the situation that is causing the problem in South Australia at the moment.

We have been forced because of the Delta variant, because of the transmission rate of the Delta variant, to make some pretty tough decisions with regard to whole-of-state lockouts. Despite there being very compelling stories and much hardship being endured by people, the alternative—allowing the Delta variant to come into South Australia—means that the whole state would be suffering.

We recently had—and you would be well aware of this, sir—a devastating seven-day lockdown in South Australia. Some businesses are still feeling the effects of that seven-day lockdown in South Australia, so we want to avoid that at all costs. We look across the border at the moment into New South Wales, into Victoria and into the ACT. They have been in lockdown for weeks and weeks, and it looks like they will continue to be in a form of lockdown right through to when they can get that vaccination rate, that double vaccination rate, up to the 80 per cent.

I completely appreciate the frustration that South Australia is feeling. I completely appreciate the frustration that members of parliament are feeling because they are on the frontline responding to some of these requests, but what I can assure all members of parliament of and all South Australians about is that we are doing everything we can to keep South Australia safe. We will process those exemptions. We will do it as expeditiously as possible, but also having one eye very, very firmly focused on keeping the Delta variant out of our state.