COVID-19 Border Restrictions

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (15:16): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier outline what the process for cross-border community members will be on 23 November and if there will be any significant changes or differences between those coming into South Australia and not from a cross-border community?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (15:16): That's a very important question, and I think the full details of that are being worked through at the moment. As the member would be aware, we now have a regional representative on the Transition Committee, Mr Mehdi Doroudi, who is the Deputy Chief Executive of the Department for Primary Industries and Regional Development in South Australia. He is providing input on behalf of those people who live in those border communities. We are in the first instance, as I pointed out yesterday in the house, going to have a slightly tougher arrangement in the early days, particularly for those people who are coming from areas—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —which have low vaccination rates and have community transmission. Just to repeat that: there are going to be tougher restrictions for those who come from LGAs with lower vaccination rates and community transmission at the same time. I am not sure at this stage what the status is for those in a border community. I predict it will be a very high vaccination rate in most of those border communities. I know that on our side of the border we have had very good take-up in regional communities, but there is a differential for those who have a vaccination rate below 80 per cent, and then there's a small impost for those people who are between 80 and 90 per cent.

I am very committed to making sure that we minimise the impact on the border communities, which have really borne the brunt of a lot of the frustrations and also a lot of the very important defence for our state over the last 19 months. I will commit to getting a full answer to the member for Mount Gambier as a matter of high priority.