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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-06-08 Daily Xml
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Statutes Amendment (COVID-19 Permanent Measures) Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 27 May 2021.)

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (15:44): I rise to make some comments in relation to the Statutes Amendment (COVID-19 Permanent Measures) Bill 2021. As members would recall, I had the great honour and privilege of being a member of cabinet when we first confronted the COVID-19 issues. We had a number of discussions around the table as to how we could deal with it and how we could best protect the people of South Australia. Clearly, we had the legislation in place for a State Coordinator, but then there was discussion over some length of time about how we could actually deal with all the potential issues that may arise.

We know that there were a number of predictions of how much we would be impacted by COVID-19: the hundreds or thousands of people who could be hospitalised and ill; the many hundreds who potentially could die, given what had happened in other parts of the world. Thankfully, our health authorities globally have learnt much over the last 18 months about the treatment of this particular disease, but we were confronted with a particularly unique set of circumstances, something none of us have seen in our lifetimes.

I know some experts say we need to be prepared for pandemics into the future. When finally we as a species and as a world are on top if this, clearly we are going to have continue to have the provision to be able to implement measures if we see things get out of control. I know some members think that we should not be imposing some permanent measures, although I think some permanent measures are important.

As we know, we have a state election coming up in March next year. We have the optional sitting week in early December, so the parliament will not be sitting for some months, and of course we often do not come straight back on the Monday or Tuesday after an election. It is usually some weeks and, in the very unfortunate set of circumstances that there was a change of government, then it might be some months after the election that we come back.

So these measures that we are discussing today I think are important. We do not know what is around the corner. I think we have done an excellent job, and I would like to thank all the people involved, right from Commissioner Grant Stevens and our Chief Medical Officer down to the local police officers on the beat and all of our frontline health professionals, as well as everybody who has done the right thing in this state. Our use of the QR code is exemplary with the number of people who are doing it and are willing to do it to keep our community safe.

I think one of the issues that has confronted the Victorian government has been the inconsistencies across the QR code in that state. I think that is why New South Wales, once they were able to get on top of the Ruby Princess cruise ship issue, has done a pretty fair job. You have to look at what has been happening around the nation, and the measures that we have put in place by and large have been successful. I know they do create some turmoil for business. I know my colleague the Hon. Mr Stephens will probably touch on the interruption to the Hotels Association.

Members would recall that when I was first elected I owned a farm on the South Australian-Victorian border until about 2006. I still have a vast number of family and friends who are farming and in business there. Certainly, with the hard border and the lockdown, that did pose some significant disruption to business, with simple things like shearers getting spare parts for equipment, but most people managed to cope with it. There would be some spare parts delivered to the no-man's-land on the South Australian-Victorian border with your name written on it, and if you were a Victorian farmer you could come over and pick up that bit of equipment.

I know people who bought motor vehicles in Bordertown, South Australia, but who lived in Victoria, and when their cars were due to be serviced there was a way to manage that. It did present some problems early on and some confusion and some annoyance, but it certainly proved that you could work your way through it.

There were other issues. I am reminded that initially shearers could travel across the border to shear. They could sleep in some digs in Mundulla, about 20 kilometres from the border, drive into Victoria and do their shearing and the police at the roadblocks were very happy to allow that to happen. I am aware of one shearer whose residential address on his driver's licence was Kingston. They would look at his driver's licence and say, 'Actually, you have come from Kingston and that's outside the 50-kilometre zone, or 70-kilometre zone, you can't come in.'

So there was a little bit of an education process for everybody to go through but in the end the community was able to deal with it. There were even some people in Victoria who were receiving specialist oncology treatment, cancer treatment and chemotherapy in South Australia that prior to that the authorities were made aware and those people were able to be catered for. I think it is very important that this was a measure put in place to keep the community safe, that did not leave people isolated where they were unable to access health care.

There were also a number of school students who live in Victoria but come into South Australia who were provided with laptops. These measures were seen by some as being a bit draconian but I think we have the great fortune to live in one of the greatest countries in the world and we certainly have been able to combat this pandemic better than most. South Australia is one of the states that has done the very best and has had a great result.

Our community, as most of us would appreciate, has been almost unaffected, other than some business interruptions last year, and the lockdown for sure, but now we continue on in our community and with our lives: footy at Adelaide Oval, community footy, all of the things that we love about South Australia, including having nice food and wine. All of the things that we hold dear, such as being able to see our family and friends at functions, weddings, funerals, etc., everything is pretty much back to normal. It is not 100 per cent back to normal, but it is certainly very close to that.

I know my friend the Hon. Terry Stephens will raise some issues around perhaps inconsistencies across the nation when it comes to hotels, but as my hardworking colleague the Hon. Stephen Wade, the Minister for Health, and the Premier—as I said, I had the great fortune to be part of cabinet and from day one we said we would rely on the advice of the health professionals. They are the experts who have the network of people nationally and globally to work out what the best responses are and what are the best tools to combat COVID-19.

As we progress, hopefully we will get more and more of our community vaccinated. I think most of my cohort of friends and people I know have now had a vaccination and are waiting to have their second one in the AstraZeneca sense, and some of my younger friends in the regions have now had their Pfizer vaccination.

I know there has been some media hype around blood clots from AstraZeneca but I think several doctors and surgeons I know have all been very happy to have had AstraZeneca because they know that the best way for us as a community to come out of this is to get the whole population vaccinated. I did some rough calculations and I was 100 times more likely to die in a car accident when I drove to the dentist and back today than I am to die of a blood clot.

An honourable member: Especially the way you drive!

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: No, I was driving sensibly and within the speed limit—as my friends interject—but to put it into context, there are a lot of other things we do, other medications we take, that pose a greater risk, and the greatest risk to our community is for us not to be vaccinated. With these few words, I encourage anybody who has a life that is so dull that they actually want to read my contribution and I hope it sparks them to be vaccinated because that is the important thing.

Until we are at that point we do not know what is around the corner and we do need to make sure that our professionals—and I include Commissioner Grant Stevens and Professor Nicola Spurrier and the team they work with—have all the tools at their disposal, especially if we go through this period when parliament is not sitting as we roll through to the next election. Without going into the specifics of the nearly 20 pieces of legislation that are amended by the bill, it is a wideranging but very important tool to keep our community safe. With those few words, I support the passage of the bill.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (15:55): I rise today to speak on the Statutes Amendment (COVID-19 Permanent Measures) Bill 2021. Since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, the state government's focus has been on keeping the South Australian community safe. It has been a challenging undertaking, but measures implemented by this government have reduced the spread of COVID-19 throughout the state, saving many lives.

On 22 March 2020, a major emergency was declared in South Australia, due to the outbreak. The declaration provided the authorising context for the State Coordinator to implement important public health measures, such as social distancing requirements. The declaration was originally for 14 days and has since been extended, now expiring on 7 September 2021.

The government has learned lessons from the many unforeseen challenges caused by the outbreak. The Statutes Amendment (COVID-19 Permanent Measures) Bill 2021 seeks to make permanent and enact some provisions of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act. The provisions included in this bill have been essential in assisting the government to manage the COVID-19 emergency response.

The bill proposes to make these provisions permanent going forward, so that they are available to assist with potential emergencies in the future. The bill also seeks to modernise some practices, which are now accepted as reasonable, given the advancements in and adoption of information technology.

I wish to identify some of the provisions that this bill proposes to make permanent. Clauses 4 and 15 of the bill seek to amend the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee Act 2003 and the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991. The amendment would allow for parliamentary standing committees to meet via AVL or audio means.

I welcome this change, as it improves the availability of regional members to contribute to standing committees. This therefore improves the efficiency of the parliament and prevents forcing members, particularly those from the regions, to travel vast distances to partake in standing committees. COVID-19 has shown us as a community that videoconferencing is a useful tool to facilitate meetings. I believe clauses 4 and 15 of the bill ensure that contributions to standing committees are equally accessible for both regional and metropolitan members of parliament.

Clause 5 of the bill seeks to amend the Acts Interpretation Act 1915. With the proposed increased availability of remote meetings, this clause seeks to provide some clarification. New section 53(1) clarifies that if an act requires two or more persons to be physically present at a meeting, or that some other transactions take place that require two or more persons to be physically present, this can be satisfied remotely using audiovisual or audio communication.

New section 53(2) in clause 5 states that subsection (1) does not apply to a requirement that a person is physically present to witness the signing, execution, certification or stamping of a document or take an oath, affirmation or declaration concerning a document. This clause provides important clarification, as remote meetings are important to improving accessibility and efficiency but are not always appropriate.

Part 4 of the bill seeks to amend the Emergency Management Act 2004. The proposed permanent provisions aim to assist the State Coordinator and authorised officers to exercise their function and powers. Under part 4, clause 6 clarifies that authorising officers are to be issued with their identity cards as soon as practicable. The clause also clarifies that an authorised officer may utilise other proof of appointment documentation when performing duties until their identity card arrives.

Clause 7 seeks to insert new section 26B into the Emergency Management Act. This section outlines that there is no obligation to maintain secrecy or other restrictions on the disclosure of information if the State Coordinator requires the information. This clause allows for the exemption of maintaining the identity of an informant secret. Clause 8 seeks to insert expiation fees of $1,000 for a natural person or $5,000 for a body corporate that fails to comply with the directions of the State Coordinator.

In emergencies such as this one, difficult decisions need to be made in challenging circumstances. Appropriate decisions need to be made without the fear of liability arising in the future. Clause 9 protects from liability for Crown or any persons acting in good faith relating to acts or omissions regarding the COVID act, South Australian Public Health Act or other prescribed act.

We have learnt a great deal about the practicalities of managing an emergency over months rather than weeks. Clauses 6, 7, 8 and 9 of this bill have assisted us in the current emergency declaration and should be available to assist our state if we face another emergency in the future. These are just a few of the important changes that the government believes will assist with future emergencies. I certainly hope that we do not see any further emergencies like we have done in the last 16 to 18 months, but on the chance that we do we will have this legislation in place to ensure that we respond swiftly, if needed.

As COVID-19 has spread across the globe, almost every country has been left to grapple with extraordinary circumstances and challenges. Borders have been slammed shut, economies have ground to a halt, health system capacities have been tested, and unfortunately lives have been lost. Australia has not been immune to the challenges and tragedies of COVID-19. South Australia itself has recorded 767 cases to date, with four deaths, and does encounter the prospect that these numbers could continue to rise.

Since the first Australian COVID-19 cases were detected in late January 2020, the lives of South Australians have dramatically changed. As a government, we have fought COVID-19 on two fronts. Firstly and most importantly, the health and safety of South Australians has been the primary concern of the state government. Restrictions of different kinds have been in place for months to ensure we protect the South Australian community.

The second part of the battle against COVID-19 is how to best support jobs, workers, businesses and the economy. The restrictions have undoubtedly been tough on employees and employers, and that is why the state and federal Liberal governments have unlocked record economic stimulus, infrastructure projects and tax cuts. These measures have been designed to support employment opportunities for South Australians and to provide relief to their hip pockets.

When observing the terrible tragedies occurring overseas, I am proud of each and every South Australian for playing their part in keeping our state safe. I am also proud of our government's collaborative approach with the federal government, SA Health and SA Police to manage the COVID-19 outbreak. Difficult times may still lie ahead of us, but we have shown that South Australia can cope with the complex challenges involved with COVID-19. I would like to thank members of the South Australian community for their cooperation and consideration during this time. With that, I commend this bill to the house.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (16:06): I rise to support the bill and speak on the Statutes Amendment (COVID-19 Permanent Measures) Bill 2021. This bill builds on the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act 2020, following the declaration of the major emergency in place since 22 March 2020; however, the COVID act will expire on 7 September 2021. This bill will permanently enact specific measures from the COVID act, so they do not require extending again.

In summary, clauses of this bill impact legislation that has the effect of removing regulated burden and barriers, improving flexibility and modernising business practices, maintaining control and promoting social distancing. The provisions proposed provide for other potential emergencies in the future, which, as we have heard with previous speakers, is most important.

I will now reflect on specific clauses of the bill and initiatives that impact on various alternate acts of parliament. Clause 4, referencing the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee Act 2003, and clause 15, referencing the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, provide for the conduct of meetings of committees utilising audiovisual or audio technology. This does already occur to some extent and aligns with contemporary meeting facilities.

Clause 5, referencing the Acts Interpretation Act 1915, also provides for meetings to use similar technology, but regulations can be made to exclude specific types of meetings where it may be required for a person to be physically present to witness the execution of a document or to take an oath or similar declaration.

I am on a number of committees, including the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee, which I have the privilege of chairing at the moment. The ability to have somebody appear as a witness, or indeed for a member to appear via technology or participate via technology, has been a really important tool to allow us to continue with the good running and good governance that we are providing at the moment.

I know that a number of members have taken advantage of the ability to attend a meeting using technology, and of course their attendance at said meetings is always very much valued. I am sure that at different times it has enabled us to have a quorum under reasonably difficult circumstances. That is not to say that there is not a level of patience required in those meetings, because at different times the technology lets us down to a small degree, but I think we have always managed to soldier on and get the job done. I am very grateful that we have been able to adapt to what are most unusual circumstances.

Clauses 6, 7, 8 and 9 amend the Emergency Management Act 2004 to support the State Coordinator in the delivery of their powers. In summary, the delegation of powers in a declared major emergency to non-police authorised officers is expedited and proven by other means even though identity cards might not have been issued conferring those powers, and access to information required by the State Coordinator is not restricted other than the identity of the informant.

Failure to comply with directions may give rise to the issue of an expiation notice; however, no liability attaches to the Crown nor civil or criminal liability attaches to any person acting in good faith. The purpose of the latter provision is to ensure decisions can be made to manage the pandemic or other emergencies without anxiety of any liability arising in the future.

While we are talking about this clause I would like to take the opportunity to commend the police commissioner for the outstanding job that he has undertaken under extremely difficult circumstances. I am sure that over his journey in policing he would have encountered many and varied challenges, but I wonder whether he would ever have dreamt that he would be in a situation where he was basically totally responsible for making decisions that have kept all the people of South Australia safe. I certainly commend him for his effort. I know that he has worked tirelessly throughout this whole episode and continues to do so.

Clause 10 of the bill references the Environment Protection Act 1993 whereby the annual roundtable conference can be undertaken at times determined by the Environment Protection Authority and flexibility is provided on how community and stakeholder engagement is undertaken in lieu of face-to-face conferences. Again, this is a most important adaptation to the set of circumstances we are dealt with. We continue to soldier on and try to provide good government, and these sorts of measures only assist us in doing that.

Clauses 12 to 14 reference the Mental Health Act 2009. These provide for inspections by the Chief Psychiatrist and community visitors via audiovisual technology. I will touch on these particular clauses. I have recently spoken to a health professional, who very kindly passed on some of his wisdom to me in regard to the issue of mental health. Through this pandemic, I have asked him the question as to what he has seen with regard to how South Australians have dealt with, and been affected by, mental health. Fortunately for me, given that I am obviously not a medical professional, he basically said, 'What you have to understand is we all carry stress. Under normal circumstances stress levels can be reasonably low, then we have to deal with other issues and of course those stress levels rise.'

What people have failed to understand or do not acknowledge is that, during the pandemic, with people having concerns about jobs, family and health and all the other things that have gone with this, the actual starting point with a person's stress levels is much higher than it would normally be. So when individuals are then faced with a number of the stressful issues that come about through everyday life and some of the challenges we all face, they are starting from a much higher base, so the actual stress level is much higher than it would be under a normal set of circumstances. It is something that we all need to be extremely mindful of.

Clauses 16 and 17 reference the Real Property Act 1886. Essentially, these amendments propose greater flexibility, improved technology and efficiency in electronic execution of documents. The South Australian Public Health Act 2011 is to be amended to extend time frames for written confirmations of directions delivered orally, authorise the appropriate disclosure of information by the Chief Public Health Officer as required, and also to provide for the Chief Public Health Officer to issue an order to detain a person suspected of having a notifiable disease and to apprehend or restrain a person who fails to comply.

The latter is absolutely only a safeguard, as community compliance thus far has been extremely high. I commend all South Australians for the way they have absolutely embraced and complied with directions given by the police commissioner and the senior health advisers. Just on that, I would like to take the opportunity to commend Professor Nicola Spurrier for the work she has done. She has often been the public face delivering sometimes not popular announcements, but again I commend all South Australians because we have been extremely respectful, I believe, and have taken in good faith the advice that has been given.

Ask yourself the question: where else in the world would you rather be right now? We have seen early in the piece shocking stories coming out of countries that I have been fortunate enough to visit, like the United Kingdom, Italy and the United States. To see hospitals that have been overwhelmed; it is beyond our comprehension in this country to think we could have a situation where, with an illness that puts your life at risk, you could not have access to the equipment necessary to keep you alive.

We have seen health professionals in other countries having to make dreadful decisions as to who would live and, basically, who would die. I am sure the mental scars that those people will carry for the rest of their lives are quite horrendous, and the loss that families have had to endure in some of those countries, again, will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

At this point, I would like to commend Minister Wade for the exceptional job he did very early in the piece ensuring that we had capacity, because if you all remember in the early stages of this pandemic, again seeing images of what had happened overseas and how this disease had got away in other countries, the very real threat of states and in particular our state not having the capacity to provide the type of health care that would save lives was most concerning.

All credit to Minister Wade, who ensured with his team that we very quickly and rapidly built enormous capacity. Fortunately, we have not had to use that capacity, but I take great comfort out of knowing that it is available, that we could act quickly if necessary. I certainly hope that we never have to go down that path, but it was really encouraging to see Minister Wade and his team making sure that we had access to the best facilities, if they were necessary.

I pay particular tribute to the frontline workers. While we as a state have rolled along pretty well and most of us have been able to go about our lives in a normal way after the initial period when we were in semilockdowns or asked not to travel, we have done an extremely good job. But, again, it is about capacity, and for those frontline health workers, the rank and file police officers, the security guards in hotels, the general nursing staff all over the place, the reality is that they would have absolutely felt like they were at risk while providing that frontline service to all of us. Our gratitude really cannot be measured, because it is just enormous.

My own personal experience with regard to COVID testing: I had to attend, after travelling interstate, the COVID testing station in Victoria Park. It is a drive-up facility. Each time I was there (and it was earlier this year) the weather was pretty warm, and there I was in my air-conditioned car, waiting to be COVID tested. Apart from the selfish impatience you feel because you should be doing something else, but you know you have to have this particular job done, when I got to the point where I was having my COVID test, I saw the reality and enormity of the work that those nurses in particular were doing. I was in a short-sleeved shirt, maybe shorts or light slacks, in an air-conditioned car, and there they were, on a really hot day, with all the protective equipment on.

Their demeanour was really quite amazing. They did their job extremely professionally. I was in awe of the work they were doing. I hope all South Australians are the same. I could not say thank you enough for the work they were doing and the conditions they were working under, without complaining and with a smile. I was really pleased when I gave them thanks, and told them how much I appreciated the work they were doing, to see the look of satisfaction on their face because they knew that they were doing incredibly good work.

Moving on to vaccinations, obviously we are encouraging everybody to be vaccinated. With regard to vaccinations and the excellent QR code uptake, I must admit that, when the police commissioner came out and said that he was going to be a little more aggressive in encouraging people to use QR codes, I was a bit interested in how that was going to work. Again, South Australian people have responded amazingly well. I applaud all South Australians. It is not a hard thing. I think that our QR code system, from what I am told, is as good as anywhere in Australia, and in fact is world class. It will be the key to enabling us to lead as normal a life as possible under these circumstances.

I recently heard in a public forum the chief executive officer of the Hotels Association speaking on behalf of hospitality. I know that it goes for the retail sector as well, in that we have improved our restrictions on venues, both small and large, but I do think personally that it is time we went to 100 per cent capacity. What people need to remember and understand is that very few venues, whether they be small bars in the city or large hotels, have the opportunity to fill all the time. However, there are peak times that make up for the really slow times.

Those venues often have to carry staff and would be running at a loss, or at best break even, in the quieter times. But then, especially in the CBD, we come to those peak times—maybe Friday or Saturday nights, maybe there is a football game at Adelaide Oval or the test cricket is on—and it is an opportunity for those venues to recoup some of the losses they have made. They only get a few chances to do that, to operate at capacity. I know that hospitality venues and retail venues in particular are putting in enormous efforts to make it easy for people to use QR codes. It is the key to opening up.

The police commissioner has done a fabulously good job in getting us to use QR codes and encouraging us to keep doing it, but there needs to be a sweetener on the end of it as well—not just public health, but the jobs that go with retail and hospitality. We must protect those jobs. We have to give those businesses the opportunity to maximise full capacity. With the amount of work they are putting in to make sure people have QR codes, perhaps they should not have the same onerous problems making sure that they are only operating at three-quarter capacity.

I heard some things from Mr Horne that are on the public record. I believe Queensland and South Australia are the only states where you cannot have a salad bar in a hospitality venue or you cannot have a buffet breakfast in a major hotel, which adds an enormous cost with regard to providing those services. We are desperately trying to have people use those hospitality venues. The tourism vouchers that the state government has put out have been enormously popular, but there are some simple things that we should be able to adopt because they are working in other states, and this state has done an amazing job with regard to keeping the number of COVID cases to an absolute minimum.

Another thing I would really like the Transition Committee to consider is that we are a large state by area. I am sure there will be outbreaks in the future, and I am sure we will work incredibly hard and that our health team will work incredibly hard to ensure that those outbreaks are absolutely kept to a minimum, and QR codes are so important to work with that. Given that, if we are going to have any restrictions, we should keep them to small areas.

I have said before to anybody who will listen to me that I see no sense in closing hospitality and retail venues in Ceduna, Streaky Bay, Port Lincoln, Whyalla, Port Pirie, Port Augusta, throughout the South-East and throughout the Riverland if there is a small problem in Adelaide. I can tell you that people in those regions scratch their heads and go, 'Yes, there's a small problem in Adelaide and you will get on top of it, but we are 700 kilometres away; why do we have to shut?' There are jobs in those regional communities that we can support and keep going.

The Hon. C.M. Scriven: So why did your government do it then?

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: To me, that is incredibly important. Remember that it is not the government of the day that is making these rules, it is the police commissioner, who is doing an outstanding job, with health advice. What I am doing is I am putting on the record my encouragement to look at some of those issues, and I think they should be looked at sooner rather than later.

I think the Premier has risen to the challenge. He has done an outstanding job, especially when people were feeling very uneasy about life, certainly in the early stages of the pandemic when we really did not know what was going to hit us. As I said, we had these overseas images and we were extremely concerned that that was going to be our country. Who would have thought that was possible? For once, I think the tyranny of distance and us being so far away from Europe and being an island nation has worked in our favour. From the Prime Minister down, with every state Premier and every territory leader, everybody has acted most responsibly in trying to keep the people of Australia safe, and I believe that generally they have done an outstanding job.

Sadly, we have lost people, and I offer my condolences to those families. Whilst as a country we have done very well statistically, the loss of a person is too much, and my heartfelt sympathy goes out to those people. Sadly, we have lost four people in South Australia. Whilst the rest of us are trying to get on with our lives and live under the best possible circumstances, for the families of those four people this will always be a terrible tragedy that they will remember. With those few words, I commend the bill and wish its speedy passage.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (16:29): I rise to support the bill. After the sterling contribution of my colleague the Hon. Mr Stephens, I am not sure how I follow such a speech.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. Scriven interjecting:

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: No, it was a good speech, I meant that sincerely, and I enjoyed it, and I think—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I look forward to the Hon. Mr Hood's presentation.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Thank you, sir, I will ignore the interjections, which are out of order.

The Hon. C.M. Scriven interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: I meant that quite sincerely. What I heard from the Hon. Mr Stephens was a speech that was from the heart and his personal experience in this matter, and I think all of us have tales to tell. This pandemic has touched all of us. It has touched all of us deeply. Some people have paid a higher price than others and of course some, sadly, have paid the ultimate price. That makes it absolutely clear just how very serious this pandemic is.

Whilst we are so fortunate to live in South Australia where the pandemic has been, for many people, almost—I will not say a side issue because that would be underplaying it but certainly not the issue that it has been in other parts of the world anyway; it has not had anything like the impact it has had in other parts of the world, and we are indeed privileged to be in that circumstance. I should make it absolutely crystal clear that we have lost four South Australians to this terrible virus and that is tragic and I send my heartfelt condolences to their families, as I am sure all members would wish to express.

It has been quite astonishing, when you look at the TV or wherever you get your news from, whether it be the paper, the radio, on the internet I guess increasingly these days, to see and read about and hear of the tragic loss of life that we have seen right around the world. I think all of us, as Australians, and especially as South Australians, are absolutely privileged.

Even the way that our parliament has handled this matter, and I say parliament as opposed to government. Obviously, government must take the lead on these things and I am proud of the Marshal Liberal government's efforts on this matter, but I think the parliament has played a significant role in that it has largely been a multipartisan agreement on these issues. The various legislation that has gone through this parliament has been largely—I think exclusively, without any sort of silly business, if I can put it that way—reasonable amendments put forward by the opposition and the crossbench which the government has accommodated where possible. In fact, it may be in every case we have accommodated them, I am not sure, but it would be very close to that.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that we have seen the parliament work at its best through these very difficult circumstances. As someone who has been here—I am now in my 16th year in this place—I have seen this place operate at its worst sometimes, so I am very pleased to see it operate at its best, I think for the benefit of all South Australians.

One of the privileges of living in this great state, and indeed in Australia, has been the—it has been criticised but what I would call the controlled and careful rollout of the vaccination program. I state for the record that I am actually booked in to have my first injection tomorrow, the AstraZeneca one, because unfortunately I am over 50. It would be nice if I was not over 50, but I am. My wife, who is not over 50, is going to have the Pfizer jab in a few days as well. I would encourage all South Australians to roll up their sleeves, as our Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier has, and get the injection. It will allow us to transition back to that normal life—near normal, I guess, or hopefully completely normal life in the not-too-distant future—that we all remember so well.

I make those opening remarks, if you like, as a way of highlighting just how fortunate we have been to be in a place that is largely protected from the devastation that this disease has caused right around the world. Most recently in India we have seen horrendous numbers of people, thousands of people a day, dying from this virus. I think that says very clearly to us that we cannot take it for granted. We cannot ignore the reality that this virus has caused a global pandemic, and we have not seen anything like it for 100 years.

The Spanish flu is often touted as a similar experience, and it was, but the death rate was higher then, of course, because the understanding of these viruses was not at the same level that it is today, and we know how to deal with them so much better than they did back then. It is interesting to me that it was almost exactly a hundred years ago that the Spanish flu swept through the world. I have seen footage, as I am sure other members would have seen, of people walking the streets of Adelaide then, and the streets of Sydney also, covering their faces, wearing face masks and being told to socially distance. It is extraordinary to think that here we are, almost exactly a hundred years later, experiencing a very similar thing.

Unfortunately, it is almost certainly true that we will experience something similar in the future as well, but hopefully it is more than a hundred years from now that the world experiences another pandemic like this. I hope that the preparation, the experience we have had through this period of the COVID-19 virus, has enabled us to prepare for whatever may lie ahead.

I guess the important thing to be clear about in all of that is that this pandemic is not over. We can get that impression because we live in a very fortunate part of the world in South Australia and in Australia and we have largely been protected from this virus, but I think it is very important for us to acknowledge that this pandemic is not over. People are still dying from this virus overseas. We have been fortunate in Australia in that we have had far fewer deaths, but overseas people are still dying from this pandemic. It is absolutely not over.

It concerns me when I hear flippant comments that suggest the pandemic may be over or that we are post COVID. I have heard those expressions and expressions like, 'Back when we had COVID'. Well, unfortunately, the virus is still alive and well and we will be dealing with it for a long time yet, and that is why the vaccination program is so critically important.

I take the opportunity to thank Grant Stevens, who I think has performed admirably in very difficult circumstances. No-one would have foreseen what we are dealing with today, yet he has handled himself absolutely with aplomb, if I can use that word. I think he has been circumspect and very clear in his communication on almost every occasion. I think the amount of stress that he as an individual has borne through this is really something that very few of us will experience.

He has been leading decisions that have required the shutdown of a whole state of 1.7 million people (the capital city of Adelaide having 1.3 million of those people) and has determined, through his role as State Coordinator, which civil liberties of those people would and would not be infringed. I think he has done it as well as anyone could possibly be expected to do it. He has weighed up the various competing considerations, if you like, extraordinarily well.

Essentially, the pandemic is fundamentally a health problem but, as a result of the impact on people's health so broadly and the restrictions that have had to be introduced, it also becomes a very significant economic problem. We have discussed that in this place in previous bills, and I think one of the things that would have weighed on State Coordinator Grant Stevens' shoulders in this whole debate would have been: where is that line drawn? What is a reasonable restriction and what is too much? To be absolutely frank, I do not think any of us would envy that position. The criticism would be immense, pretty much no matter what decision that individual came to, yet I have no doubt he is doing a tremendous job and deserves significant credit for it.

I would also like to extend my personal thanks and congratulations to Nicola Spurrier, our Chief Public Health Officer. I say this respectfully, but she has become almost somewhat of a celebrity in South Australia. I think she is admired by all. Again, her passionate pursuit of an improvement in the living circumstances of South Australians through combating this virus has been nothing short of exemplary.

I am grateful, and I am very pleased that we have someone of her calibre providing advice to the State Coordinator, the Premier and the Transition Committee. As we have progressed through this virus it has been hard to imagine how she could have done a better job. Everyone is going to make the odd slip-up in these things from time to time, and there are a couple of examples of that possibly, but I offer no criticism at all of her. In fact, on the contrary, I give her 10 out of 10, if I can put it that way.

She has been, I think, in the finest tradition of public servants; she has been one who has genuinely drawn the admiration of the public. We are in a situation where, when we first heard about this virus, none of us understood it. I knew nothing about it. I am sure that is true for almost everyone, and yet she has provided calm, controlled, thoughtful guidance and leadership, which has been very sorely required in these very difficult circumstances. My sincere thanks and congratulations to her as well.

I do not wish to politicise this, but I would also like to congratulate the Premier and Minister Wade on their outstanding leadership and—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Yes, I will not respond to those out of order interjections, sir, but I say it sincerely. I do not mean to politicise it, but I think anyone who happens to be Premier or health minister at the time of a global pandemic is clearly going to have very difficult circumstances to deal with, and they will be criticised no matter what they do. I do not criticise them at all. These are two men that I think the state can be proud of. They have done extraordinary work and I commend them both.

It has been trying for all of us. We have all had our civil liberties curtailed. In some circumstances the word 'curtailed' does not go far enough, because it has been more than that. We all remember, no doubt, one period when we were not allowed to leave our house at all except for a medical emergency or for shopping to get the necessary supplies to get us through to the end of the period.

If you had said to any of us just a year or two ago that they would be circumstances that we would be living through, we would have thought that was ridiculous, and unfathomable actually. Who would have thought that you would regularly see almost everyone wearing masks as they were walking around, as we did for a period, that when they went to the supermarket everyone would wear a mask and that they would sanitise their hands before they went in. These are things that we regard as absolutely normal now, because we are used to them, but before just over a year ago they would have been regarded as unthinkable.

This is one thing that strikes me as falling into that category: just last week we saw some football players returning from an interstate game on a plane and a couple of them, I think, were not wearing their masks correctly, and as a result of that there was quite a bit of media attention and criticism. In fact, the AFL, the governing body of the competition imposed a large fine on that football club. That is probably appropriate in the current circumstances, but if you had said a little over a year ago that they would be the circumstances we would be facing I think you would have been laughed at, frankly. It would have been hard to fathom, but these are exactly the circumstances we find ourselves in.

Apart from the tragedy, obviously, of the loss of life and the genuine suffering of many and their families, which will always be the most prominent thought as we reflect on this, I think the main thing that people will remember from this pandemic in terms of the impact on most individuals in South Australia will be the issue of the curtailment of liberty. We have seen extraordinary changes in our lifestyle, which would have been completely unfathomable just over a year ago.

Who would have imagined the sorts of things that we have seen in the last little while? Who would have imagined that things like professional football games would be conducted without any audience or any crowd at all? Who would have imagined that we would have had restrictions on, and even completely closed down, restaurants, for example? Who would have imagined that even at this stage of the pandemic hotels, as my colleague the Hon. Mr Stephens outlined, would still be under the restriction of only being allowed 75 per cent capacity?

These are extraordinary restrictions on individuals' liberties in a society where we pride ourselves on freedom and it has been, I think, the most memorable aspect for most of us, other than of course the suffering and unfortunate deaths that have occurred. The real world impact on individuals has come down to the fact that they cannot go to the football, they cannot go to a restaurant, they cannot do this, they cannot do that. Those things are necessary, so I do not criticise them. As I have said, I have supported those decisions along the way, but they have been, I think, the most extraordinary things.

The impact on cinemas, restaurants, airlines, hospitality, tourism and live music—the economic cost to all of these various industries, outside of the health costs of this pandemic—has been unprecedented. When have we ever seen the skies completely empty of air travel? When have we ever seen cinemas and restaurants close completely and live music suspended for months and months? These are things that I think all of us would hope that we never experience again. Certainly, it is my strong hope that we never experience them again.

I raise this issue to highlight that these industries will still need assistance in many cases. These have been unprecedented times for them. When your only income is from serving food and you are prevented from serving food, it does not take long before bills start to mount up and revenue becomes a real problem, so I commend the federal government and the state government on their various programs that have been initiated.

The most significant federal program, the JobKeeper program, provided the opportunity for these businesses to survive in the most extraordinarily difficult time. It is a little controversial, but who would have thought a Liberal government would seek to intervene economically so significantly? I am proud that we did so at a federal level because it provided opportunities for these businesses to continue to exist and to eventually come out the other end, as we all hope we are now doing.

That leads me to my next point, which is just how extraordinary the recovery phase is looking like it is going to be. The economy is coming back very strongly. I think all of us are surprised at just how strongly it has come back. It was not that long ago when we were hearing predictions of 15 per cent unemployment—15 per cent. South Australia's unemployment rate is now 5.7 per cent. We were hearing from well-informed experts some time ago that 15 per cent was going to be the unemployment rate.

I am now reliably informed that there are more people employed in Australia as a whole than there were prior to the pandemic breaking out just over a year ago, 15, 16, 17 months or whatever it was. There are now more people in work in Australia than there were before the pandemic, so the economy is well and truly bouncing back. As I said, I think all of us are surprised at just how quickly and how positively it is coming back.

There are so many things I could point to, but I will not, in the interests of time. So many predictions that were made have proven to be false. There were dire predictions for house prices, if members recall. I remember it was touted—I will not name these people as I do not want to embarrass them, but they were almost household names in financial circles at least—that house prices would fall by 10 or 20 per cent across the board in the next 12 months. What has actually happened is they have gone up by figures of that order. These things are all signs of confidence.

We have seen the share market roar back. In fact, the share market has now hit record levels in Australia. It has never been higher. We are living in an economy that is bounding ahead, and all of these things demonstrate improved signs of confidence in our nation and in our state, which I think all of us can be pleased with and proud of. When the economy is going strong, more people have food in their belly, more people have a roof over their head and more people have meaningful work to do, which is the source of social satisfaction. It is a social good overall and it is something that we can all be proud of.

There are so many things that have come out of this pandemic that have been a positive on the social side as well. When you reflect on it, these are things we probably would not have expected. As I said, the economy is roaring back, which is fantastic. On the financial or economic side there have been positives as we exit this pandemic, but on the social side there are also some positives that I think can be pointed to.

One of the things that I think makes a lot of sense but was actually a little surprising when I first became aware of it is that rates of flu are actually down substantially as well. I think what has happened, as has been explained to us by those who work in the health sector and know these things, is people are now used to sanitising. They are washing their hands more. They are sneezing into their elbow and not into their hand and then offering to shake it with somebody.

These practices, if you like, that have been learned almost or become habit through the pandemic are things that will benefit us as we go on. I expect that those rates of flu infection will continue to be at a lower level for some time to come. That is one of the positives that has come out of this pandemic in a social sense.

Also, we have all heard accounts of families having the opportunity to reconnect through this period. We have all been at various levels of lockdown across Australia—fortunately in South Australia we have not had to suffer too long in lockdown—but the truth is we are actually in a circumstance now where we have all heard reports of families having the opportunity to reconnect. They could actually sit around the dinner table together because they were not rushing the kids off to netball, hockey or whatever it was in the evening, or mum or dad were not heading out to another meeting. There are social positives out of this as well.

In my own case I have had the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and people I had not seen for some time, and I am sure that is true of many of us because when you have more time on your hands you are able to do these things. I have reintroduced myself to my guitar, some people in this room will be happy to know.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Yes, shame! I am going to put on the public record that I have learnt the Hotel California solo.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: It is something I very much enjoy. The point there is people have had the opportunity to go back to hobbies they have not enjoyed for quite some time.

I want to take this opportunity to commend South Australians for their commitment to ensuring that we have endured this pandemic in the best possible way. I heard the Premier say that we did not just want to survive this pandemic, we wanted to thrive as we came out the other end. I believe South Australia is in the perfect position to do that. We will thrive at the other end of this pandemic. I urge everyone to get vaccinated. Again, I thank all those who have led us through these most difficult of times.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.

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