HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Subject Index
House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-09-23 Daily Xml
Contents
Pdf Xml

Facebook Posts

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:14): My question is again to the Premier. When people signed up to the Premier's Facebook page to get the latest news on SA's COVID-19 recovery, including and specifically the vaccine rollout, where did this personal information go? Was it to the Liberal Party or to the government of South Australia?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:15): As the Leader of the Opposition would be aware, Facebook is open to every single person in this state, and we do put important information on that Facebook site—important information regarding the vaccine rollout which, by the way, is doing extraordinarily well here in South Australia at the moment. We are opening up more and more sites, and people are very interested in the vaccination pathway because they know that this is our pathway out of the situation that we currently find ourselves in.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Point of order, Mr Speaker.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: There is a lot of useful information which is on the Facebook site.

The SPEAKER: The Premier will resume his seat.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: The question was quite specific about where the information went—either to the Liberal Party or to the government of South Australia—not about people's interest in the vaccine rollout.

The Hon. V.A. Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Deputy Premier is called to order.

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Playford is called to order and will cease interjecting. I am listening carefully to the Premier's answer. In my view, the Premier is entitled to provide some context in the circumstances of the question, particularly in relation to information that is posted on a particular platform, how it is used and so forth. I am listening carefully to the Premier's answer. The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Thank you very much, sir, and I know you are interested and I know that those on this side of the chamber are also interested in how we can make ourselves as safe as possible here in South Australia.

Certainly, the vaccination rollout in South Australia, which is going extremely well, is our pathway to a normal Christmas or as normal as we can possibly make it, where we can end statewide lockdowns and of course state lockouts as we reduce the risk of transmission as we increase that vaccination rate. We make no apology for using all and every single methodology for telling the people about this situation. It is a very good message, and I would encourage those opposite to join with the government, join with SA Health, join with all South Australians in charting a course and promoting a course out of the current situation.

As for the leader's question—his slightly cryptic question—saying, 'What happens with the data?' I am not sure which data he is referring to. In his previous question it was more about the vibe when he said, 'I think the Premier knows where I'm going.' I don't think anybody knows where he is going, and I just make the observation that we now have less than six months to the election—less than six months to the election. We have had a lot of negativity, a lot of whingeing, whining, carping and complaining from those opposite, but we haven't seen any policy. I think there was something about a university merger. I don't know whether he has spoken to the universities about that. I know that he doesn't want to deregulate—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —shop trading hours in South Australia. He defines himself by what he doesn't want—

The SPEAKER: The Premier will resume his seat.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Sorry, the Leader of the Opposition—

The SPEAKER: The Premier will resume his seat.

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Chaffey is called to order. The member for West Torrens rises on a point of order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Standing order 98, sir: the Premier is not answering the substance of the question; he is debating the answer.

The SPEAKER: I uphold that point of order. The Premier will address the substance of the question. As I have indicated in ruling on a previous point of order, I am listening carefully. The Premier, in my view, is entitled to provide some context in answering the question. The Premier will direct his answer to the substance of the question. The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: The social media that I operate isn't something which is an official government website—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —but I think it's only fair that all members of parliament share government messages, especially government messages which are aimed at protecting the lives of South Australians. What we have done in South Australia, working with the people of South Australia, is to keep our state safe and our economy strong, and that's only happened with the partnership of all South Australians.

I implore those opposite to also share those messages about how we can chart a course out of the situation that many other parts of the country find themselves in with the Delta variant, with extensive restrictions. We don't want those in South Australia, so I think it's only fair that we do everything we can, everything within our power, in a bipartisan way.

The Leader of the Opposition, sir, as you would be more than aware, is out there on a pretty regular basis telling everybody how bipartisan he is about our response to COVID. What we really want him to be doing is promoting those core messages: get vaccinated, use the QR code check-in, make sure that when you are unwell, go and have yourself tested.

The Delta variant kills people. I was looking at some of the statistics today out of New South Wales. There were more new infections and more deaths today in New South Wales than we have had in South Australia for the last 18 months. What we are doing here in South Australia is working with the people of South Australia. Using all platforms to inform people about our situation here in South Australia is working and I hope it continues into the future.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT