Matters of Interest

COVID-19 Response

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO (15:29): Today, I rise to speak on South Australia's response and recovery from COVID. We can all agree on something here today: South Australia is the greatest state in the greatest country in the world and I am very proud of everything South Australians have done to support our state during challenging times. Our beautiful landscape, community spirit and uniqueness are why we are all lucky to live here.

Through the hard work and determination of South Australians, our state has evolved into the land that we know today. With high-quality infrastructural development, environmental upgrades, education and healthcare facilities, Adelaide has been named the third most livable city in the world and the first in Australia. It is the best city in which to work, live and play. This begs the question: where else would you rather live?

I would like to say thank you—thank you to every single South Australian. Thanks for your hard work and determination so that industries such as hospitality, tourism, retail and many more can continue to operate and keep South Australians strong and safe. I would also like to say thank you to the Adelaide City Council for their commitment to CBD businesses. I know that COVID has created hardships right across our state, but our most hard-hit industries are right here in the CBD.

Because of this, the Marshall Liberal government has committed to ensuring that we are boosting capacity and support to our local CBD businesses. We have put in $1 million for the City of Adelaide's Adelaide Unleashed program, $250,000 for the City of Adelaide's grand activation grant scheme and up to $5,000 for eligible businesses to activate the area outside their premises in the CBD. Our small businesses are extremely vital.

South Australians' resilience, strength and faith in our government and health experts have pulled us all through this turbulent time. With an overall $4 billion COVID stimulus package and a record-breaking $17.9 billion infrastructure investment, the Marshall Liberal government has not only supported small business but created more employment opportunities. The current job vacancies and opportunities have pushed us to the lowest unemployment rate since 1978, at 3.9 per cent.

The Marshall Liberal government recently released another round of Tourism, Hospitality and Gym Grants to provide eligible businesses in those industries with up to $22,000. As a bonus, an additional round of the Business Hardship Grant provides an extra $8,000 for all other South Australian businesses impacted by the Omicron outbreak. We have also introduced round 7 of our Great State Vouchers, with up to 160,000 vouchers worth $100 each available for CBD stays. To assist with transport throughout the festival period, the Marshall Liberal government has implemented free public transport from midday Friday to midday Sunday.

By the Marshall Liberal government making difficult decisions, we have passed our peak in South Australia. We have been able to ease restrictions back to 50 per cent capacity and we will have an effective decrease in COVID cases in South Australia. However, this is not the case in many other states.

Western Australia has declared a state of emergency for COVID. Since the beginning of the pandemic, they have had the harshest border closures and the strictest travel requirements in Australia. They are prisoners within their own state; however, the worst is yet to come for them. While they are seeing higher cases by the day and are unsure where the next steps will go, South Australia on the other hand is slowly returning to normal and learning to deal with COVID as part of our everyday lives.

We have seen incredibly high case numbers in Victoria and even Queensland. Queensland have had triple the cases of South Australia, despite opening their borders almost a month later. The fact that we have passed the peak proves that we truly are lucky to live in a state like South Australia.