House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-08-26 Daily Xml

Contents

COVID-19 Border Restrictions

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Frome) (15:15): Supplementary: what I was asking the Premier was whether we have people or facilities at the borders on those roads coming out of New South Wales?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (15:15): Yes, that is the work of SAPOL. Obviously, we have a very large border with New South Wales, with Victoria, with the Northern Territory and with Western Australia. It's impossible to essentially monitor every single part of that border, but the police make operational decisions with regard to how we protect that border. I think they have done a good job. We know that some people have come in. We know that they have been identified, we know that they have been apprehended and we know that there are consequences for that.

We know that this is not part of the way we would normally exist here in Australia, putting border arrangements between states, but we do not have a choice at the moment. That's why, under the emergency management declaration that is in place at the moment, we have the State Coordinator, who is the police commissioner, with the ability to put directions into place with regard to border arrangements. Of course, he is responsible for the physical implementation of those border arrangements.