Matt Smith: 21 questions for SA politics in the new year | The State

It’s 2021, the pandemic is still here but now it’s effectively an election year, writes Matt Smith.

\Opposition Peter Malinauskas with protesters angry about the axing of the Adelaide 500. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

It is hard to imagine anyone, anywhere in the world, would not be glad to see 2020 come to a close. As the new year begins, it brings with it hope and optimism for better days ahead.

So what does 2021 have in store for South Australian politics? The answer is: Who could possibly know?

But here are the 21 questions for 2021 it would be great to have answers for before this time next year.

1. A vaccine is seen as Australia’s best way of putting the coronavirus pandemic in the rear-view mirror. In coming months, how it will be rolled out will be revealed. But will it work?

2. Treasurer Rob Lucas delivered a State Budget “drowning in red ink” in a bid to stimulate the economy. But has a $4bn stimulus package worked?

3. SA ended the year with the lowest unemployment rate in the country, albeit using highly volatile Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, as we eased closer to returning to pre-COVID employment levels. How many people will find employment in 2021?

4. In what is effectively an election year, there should be plenty of new policies put out by Premier Steven Marshall and Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas. What will their visions for beyond 2021 look like?

5. The State Government can be forgiven for having a laser focus on coronavirus in 2020. But will ministers use 2021 as an opportunity to revisit key election promises, including shop trading and local government reform?

6. SA is set to get through the pandemic as one of the safest places in the world. How will the State Government capitalise on that opportunity and reverse the brain drain?

7. The State Government has promised a $16.7bn investment in roads, education, sporting and health infrastructure. But it means little if it cannot get out the door. How swiftly can the builds be started and completed?

8. Lot Fourteen has been spruiked as ground zero for SA’s economic transformation. Is 2021 the year the general public understand what it is all about?

9. Will we finally see the number of children in state care, and the various challenges that face the sector, fall?

10. Will the new head of the anti-corruption commission, Ann Vanstone, find that any MP behaved unlawfully in relation to the controversial country members allowance?

11. It has been the issue that the Opposition has managed to keep in the news. Is 2021 the year the State Government manages to articulate the benefits of outsourcing train services after failing to do so in 2020?

12. Mr Lucas has vowed to retire at the next election. But will he be the one to deliver the economic blueprint for the state for the subsequent four years or someone else?

13. It was one of the biggest issues of 2019 that has been put on the backburner. But will Western Australia manage to wrest the lucrative submarine maintenance contract from SA in 2021?

14. What will the State Government do to support SA’s universities as they face a big fall in overseas student enrolments and, therefore, revenue – hitting SA’s biggest export earner?

15. The Federal Government’s stoush with China has led to SA businesses being badly hurt through trade retaliation affecting wine, barley, fishing and forestry. What will the State Government do to put pressure on the Federal Government to fix the rift?

16. Following pressure from the Opposition, Attorney-General Vickie Chapman addressed concerns around sentencing discounts for sex offenders. Will any offenders walk from prison too early in 2021?

17. Will the interconnector that was spruiked as a key to bring down power prices use up any more state money in 2021?

18. The State Government has promised a “suite of events” to replace the Adelaide 500 motor racing event. When will we know what they are?

19. Will Prime Minister Scott Morrison go to the polls in 2021 and what will it mean for SA?

20. What happens to Sam Duluk, and his seat of Waite, and Stephan Knoll’s seat of Schubert?

21. Since the start of this century, SA’s population has grown by 274,101 people. The biggest contributor has been net overseas migration at a total of 215,590 people, coming in at an average of more than 2600 a quarter. With COVID, that fell to 82 immigrants in the June quarter. How will SA cope with the loss of economic impact from fewer immigrants?

Disclaimer: If Australia is not able to secure an adequate vaccine program, the only question that needs to be answered becomes: How does the country learn to live with the coronavirus?