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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-06-18 Daily Xml
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Coronavirus Restrictions

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (14:49): My question is to the Premier. Why is South Australia maintaining stricter rules than most states are on indoor fitness and recreation activities, such as Pilates, spin classes and the like, despite our success in arresting further transmission of COVID-19? With your leave and that of the house, I would like to explain.

Leave granted.

Ms BEDFORD: I have been contacted by a constituent who operates a Pilates class at a local council-operated community centre currently restricted to 10 persons per room at the density requirement of four square metres per person. In a recent article by Clare Peddie, published in The Advertiser on Tuesday 16 June, it was mooted that the government may consider a change to allow classes of up to 20 in a room but with a density requirement of seven square metres per person. My constituent tells me this will in fact be more restrictive than the current requirements and crushing.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:50): I thank the member for her question. Each jurisdiction determines their own arrangements in terms of tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Australia, to date we have been extraordinarily successful. Part of that is the state borders that we have put in and part of it is the restrictions that we have put in place. As we have said in this parliament many times, we are tackling two crises simultaneously: one is a health crisis and the other one is an economic crisis.

I think South Australia has led the way in terms of tackling the health crisis and we now need to lead the way in terms of tackling the economic crisis. That's one of the reasons why we have been progressively lifting those restrictions in South Australia. We have led the way. We led the way in terms of getting our students back to school in South Australia, something that I know benefits students in our state. I want to particularly thank the teachers in South Australia, the parents and the governing councils and principals for the courage they showed when many other states weren't prepared to act in that way.

We were the first state to open up for regional travel, the first state to open up for caravanning and camping. We were the first to lift the ban on elective surgery in South Australia and return to 100 per cent elective surgery and dental activities as well. These are all important restrictions that have been lifted. They were important when they were put in place but are important also to be lifted.

There are differential arrangements with regard to activities that might occur indoor versus outdoor, contact versus non-contact. They are revised on a regular basis by the Transition Committee, which looks at three principal criteria: first of all, the health criteria, then also the economic and the social. The Transition Committee has a range of representatives from Health and also from other government departments, including the State Coordinator, the police commissioner Grant Stevens, the Chief Executive of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Under Treasurer, the Chief Executive of the Department for Health and Wellbeing and the chief executive of the Department for Trade and Investment.

At the moment, they are meeting twice a week so they will be meeting again tomorrow morning. The member is right: there has been a change to the original arrangement with just 10 people for those indoor fitness arrangements. We did announce a change earlier this week so that for those organisations that have been petitioning us saying, 'We've actually got a very large area and we can take a lot more people in line with a new national standard,' we allowed that to go up to 20 provided that seven square metres per person could be provided.

These will continue to be looked at. The member is right: we have done extraordinarily well in South Australia. I think today is 22 days that we have not had a new infection in South Australia. That is something that all South Australians should be very proud of. They have played an enormous part in making sure that we have tackled this coronavirus and done particularly well. I am happy to raise that issue with the Transition Committee and see whether there can be a further issue with regard to the density for indoor activities. I know this is an issue that has been raised with me on a very regular basis.

It is something that the Transition Committee is actively looking at at the moment. The committee is also looking at the issue of state borders. Earlier this week, we said there was no longer a requirement for 14 days of self-isolation for people coming into the state from Western Australia, the Northern Territory or Tasmania. I hope that we have an announcement very soon with regard to those people who are coming in from Queensland.

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