COVID-19

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (14:33): My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer outline to the house whether the government is considering any further financial assistance to businesses impacted by the global COVID pandemic?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:34): The only positive aspect of the COVID pandemic is that the masks being worn by the opposition mean I can't actually hear what they are screaming during question time, so there are some upsides. I thank the member for his question. The government has provided two rounds of financial assistance as a result of the late July lockdown for a seven-day period and then the extended restrictions for the week, and then two weeks post lockdown. A business, for example, that was COVID-impacted in the CBD would have been entitled to a total grant of $7,000 by way of a $3,000 first grant, a $3,000 second grant and an additional grant of $1,000 for a CBD-located business.

We did so on the basis that we accept the fact that many corporates and head offices in Adelaide are continuing to have some or all of their workers work from home during the COVID pandemic, and even those with officers coming back into the CBD office, some are doing so for three or four days a week as opposed to five days a week, and so there were a series of initiatives.

We congratulate the Adelaide City Council and other agencies associated with the CBD, together with the state government, on a range of initiatives that are seeking to try to attract people back into the city on Fridays but also back to work in the CBD and, from the government's viewpoint, providing additional financial assistance to all impacted businesses but in particular a little bit of extra assistance for the CBD impacted businesses.

In relation to the specifics of the honourable member's question, the answer to his question is yes. We have not finalised what the government might do by way of further support but we are having initial discussions with the commonwealth government in relation to, again, those increasingly hopefully as long as our impressive health performance—and I thank my colleague the Minister for Health and his hardworking public health officers—for so long as that continues an increasingly restricted group of businesses, in particular tourism and hospitality but also some within the CBD area as well that continue to be impacted by COVID.

We are looking, as I said, in early stage discussions with the commonwealth government, as to whether there is another round of grants that we might provide to those who continue to be impacted by the pandemic. We have always said that the taxpayers of South Australia cannot afford to bail out and save every job in the state and every business in the state as a result of COVID. We will do as much as we can, using the taxpayers' money—this is not government money, it is taxpayers' money.

I highlighted yesterday how much state and federal government assistance has gone in the last, I think possibly, a month, almost $100 million in assistance to individuals who have been impacted, and businesses that have been impacted in South Australia, but we will continue to look within the financial restrictions that we have as to whether or not we can provide some further assistance to those increasingly, hopefully, smaller number of businesses that continue to be impacted by the pandemic.