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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-05-14 Daily Xml
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Coronavirus

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (14:52): Supplementary: in light of the recent COVID-19 outbreak at Cedar Meats in Victoria, how are social distancing protocols being enforced in South Australian meat factories, and how are local meat workers' rights and conditions being supported as a result of the downturn in production?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:53): I thank the member for her question. One thing that I am assured of is that SA Health are really on top of understanding not just the broad macro implications for South Australia with regard to COVID-19 but also trying to get down into as much granular detail as possible, sector by sector. There have been problems in a meat-processing facility in Victoria, and one of the things that we do as part of our national approach to this is to share information across jurisdictions. I am happy to find out the latest advice to people who work within that sector.

But we can't extrapolate that because there's a problem in a meat-processing facility in Victoria that is likely to be high risk in South Australia, just as we can't say that because there was an outbreak in a hospital in north-west Tasmania it's very likely that there will be one in South Australia, or because there was an outbreak in aged care in New South Wales that there must be one in South Australia.

What we do, though, for every outbreak—it doesn't matter where it occurs, whether it's in Tasmania, whether it's in Victoria or whether it's in New South Wales—is that the public health officials get together, they look at the reasons and the concerns and they share that information. I think it's one of the things that is peculiar to Australia and the way that we tackle this issue. Maybe it’s something to do with our federation; maybe it's something to do with the size.

There are essentially nine jurisdictions: six states, two territories and the commonwealth that work at the national cabinet level, at the health minister's level and also at the Public Health Administrator's level, which is called the AHPPC (Australian Health Protection Principal Committee). That's chaired by—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: As it turns out, the question was asked to me. What arrogance!

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We are in the middle of a global pandemic, there is a very decent question being asked in this parliament about concerns that people have with risks in regard to individual industries, I am providing a comprehensive answer and the Leader of the Opposition says, 'I know that.' What an incredible situation of arrogance. What an arrogant, arrogant Leader of the Opposition.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: What an out of touch Leader of the Opposition we have. He's obviously under a lot of pressure over there, sir.

The SPEAKER: Premier, have you concluded your answer?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: No, I've got plenty to go, sir.

The SPEAKER: Well, can you not reflect on other members like that, please. Premier, please come back to the substance of the question or I will sit you down.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I am more than happy to continue to provide an answer to the member for Florey. And the question was how we are responding to—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Member for West Torrens, was there a point of order?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: That was an appalling personal reflection by the Premier, sir.

The SPEAKER: Yes, and I have asked the Premier not to do that. If the Leader of the Opposition takes offence, he can rise and take that offence, but I believe I have dealt with the matter most satisfactorily. I am expecting an improvement in the behaviour of the Premier.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Thank you, sir, and I'm very keen to continue to provide an answer to this house regarding a very important issue in regard to risks. I think we all appreciate there are risks in every single industry and every single activity that takes place in this country at the moment. Of course, we've got to be mindful of identifying those risks and mitigating against those risks. One of the things that Professor Spurrier continually says is how pleased she is with the responses that industry are providing. Some of them are very innovative and some of them are being shared across jurisdictions.

I know that the member for Chaffey, in his role as the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, has been doing a huge amount of work in regard to getting seasonal workers. This is an area that has historically been a higher risk area. The work that has gone in and the preparation that has gone into this area is absolutely superb, but it is also informed by some of the learnings in other jurisdictions when they have gone in front of us. It is one of the reasons why we wanted to get behind that front of this disease in the Northern Hemisphere and behind the front in other states. We are learning, we are listening and we are making sure that we put ourselves in the very best position possible here in South Australia.

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