COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccinations

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:28): Supplementary: does the Treasurer have any advice, as the minister responsible for Treasury and Finance which is responsible for Electorate Services, on what risks political staff pose to the community if they are unvaccinated?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:28): In relation to health advice, that is best coming from the Chief Public Health Officer. I suspect she and her very hardworking assistants or deputies are best placed in relation to that governance across the, I suspect the world, but across the nation in making decisions about certain cohorts of frontline services, as they might designate them, as being required or mandated to be vaccinated, and then there are vast swathes of many other workers where it is not mandated.

If the Leader of the Opposition in this chamber is announcing that a Labor government, if elected, is going to mandate all members of the public sector to have to be vaccinated, and if he is going to announce that that is the import of the question, that all Premier and Cabinet and Treasury staff and all other public servants will be mandated, that is a courageous decision, but let it at least be a policy decision being announced by the alternative government in South Australia.

We can read into the honourable member's question what we see, and it is clearly apparent that he, on behalf of the Labor Party, is inclined to want to mandate large swathes of the public sector which are not currently mandated.