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<hansard id="" tocId="" xml:lang="EN-AU" schemaVersion="1.0" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xml="http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2007/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="hansard_1_0.xsd">
  <name>Legislative Council</name>
  <date date="2021-09-21" />
  <sessionName>Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)</sessionName>
  <parliamentNum>54</parliamentNum>
  <sessionNum>2</sessionNum>
  <parliamentName>Parliament of South Australia</parliamentName>
  <house>Legislative Council</house>
  <venue></venue>
  <reviewStage>published</reviewStage>
  <startPage num="4227" />
  <endPage num="4276" />
  <dateModified time="2022-08-06T14:30:00+00:00" />
  <proceeding continued="true">
    <name>Question Time</name>
    <subject>
      <name>COVID-19 Travel Exemptions</name>
      <text id="2021092176885bde01854350b0000154">
        <heading>COVID-19 Travel Exemptions</heading>
      </text>
      <talker role="member" id="5413" kind="question">
        <name>The Hon. E.S. BOURKE</name>
        <house>Legislative Council</house>
        <questions>
          <question date="2021-09-21">
            <name>COVID-19 Travel Exemptions</name>
          </question>
        </questions>
        <startTime time="2021-09-21T14:35:29" />
        <text id="2021092176885bde01854350b0000155">
          <timeStamp time="2021-09-21T14:35:29" />
          <by role="member" id="5413">The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (14:35):</by>  I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing regarding border exemptions.</text>
        <text id="2021092176885bde01854350b0000156">Leave granted.</text>
      </talker>
      <talker role="member" id="5413" kind="question" continued="true">
        <name>The Hon. E.S. BOURKE</name>
        <house>Legislative Council</house>
        <text id="2021092176885bde01854350b0000157">
          <by role="member" id="5413">The Hon. E.S. BOURKE:</by>  This morning, the minister's office sent an email to opposition offices that says:</text>
        <text id="2021092176885bde01854350b0000158">
          <inserted>Please find below a response to your question in the Legislative Council on Tuesday 7 September 2021 regarding the number of applications for travel exemptions back to SA.</inserted>
        </text>
        <text id="2021092176885bde01854350b0000159">
          <inserted>How many applications for an exemption are there currently to allow travel into South Australia?</inserted>
        </text>
        <text continued="true" id="2021092176885bde01854350b0000160">That was the question:</text>
        <text id="2021092176885bde01854350b0000161">
          <inserted>At this point in time, the Minister for Health and Wellbeing is unable to disclose the exact number of exemption applications. The numbers are quite rubbery.</inserted>
        </text>
        <text continued="true" id="2021092176885bde01854350b0000162">My questions to the minister are:</text>
        <text id="2021092176885bde01854350b0000163">1.&amp;#x9;Exactly, or even approximately, how many applications have been received?</text>
        <text id="2021092176885bde01854350b0000164">2.&amp;#x9;Has the minister ever made any representations on behalf of a person or an organisation in relation to border exemptions?</text>
        <text id="2021092176885bde01854350b0000165">3.&amp;#x9;How does the minister think people who are stuck on the border will feel when the best the minister's office can say is that they are working off rubbery figures?</text>
      </talker>
      <talker role="member" id="3164" kind="answer">
        <name>The Hon. S.G. WADE</name>
        <house>Legislative Council</house>
        <portfolios>
          <portfolio id="">
            <name>Minister for Health and Wellbeing</name>
          </portfolio>
        </portfolios>
        <startTime time="2021-09-21T14:36:41" />
        <text id="2021092176885bde01854350b0000166">
          <timeStamp time="2021-09-21T14:36:41" />
          <by role="member" id="3164">The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:36):</by>  The advice I have received is that since the new portal was established on 9 August we have received about 11,000 applications, and my understanding is that the current number of outstanding applications is around 5,900. In terms of representations, the minister's office often raises cases with SA Health for that matter, from government members, from opposition members and from crossbenchers.</text>
      </talker>
    </subject>
  </proceeding>
</hansard>