SA Premier Steven Marshall on 2020: Pride, tough moments and hope for 2021

Premier Steven Marshall is proud of how the SA public have reacted and adapted to 2020’s challenges, and he’s much more optimistic about next year.

SA Premier Steven Marshall. Picture: Matt Turner

An end of year Q&A between Advertiser political editor Matt SMith and SA Premier Steven Marshall.

Matt Smith: What has 2020 taught you?

Steven Marshall: 2020 has taught me just how resilient the people of South Australia are.

They have taken on this virus, they have obviously had a very bruising year in terms of jobs and in terms of the economy, but we have come through and we have come through it together.

What is the moment you will not forget?

The low point for 2020 was when we first learned about the deaths associated with the coronavirus.

That was a particularly tough day.

We thought that this could be the start of a large number of deaths like we had seen in Europe at the time. Thankfully, that was not to be the case.

We had four lives lost and three lives lost with the bushfires, and in many ways, both of those things could have been far, far worse given the circumstances.

What is your proudest achievement for 2020?

I feel very proud of the people of South Australia and how they have risen to the challenge.

I think there is a great sense of state pride in how as a state we have worked to tackle the same disease that much of the rest of the world has had to deal with.

I walk down the street and people tell me how happy they are with how we have dealt with this in South Australia.

And it is a collective effort – SA Health has done a great job, SA Police have done a great job, but most importantly, the people of South Australia have worked together to get through this. So I have a great sense of pride.

A COVID vaccine is top of most people’s list to see a return to normal but, outside of that, what’s your blueprint to move the state on from the effects of the pandemic?

It is all about jobs for me. We finish the year with the lowest unemployment in the nation but there is still so much opportunity.

I feel extraordinarily optimistic about 2021.

I think we will continue to have good business confidence, consumer confidence and investor confidence and that means it is great for jobs.

I think as a government we have really leant into the opportunity to create more jobs through our massive infrastructure build – $16.7bn over the next four years.

I am pleased with the way that we have finished the year but I am more optimistic for 2021.

Are you making a new year’s resolution and if so, what is it?

I’m not one for making new year’s resolutions but I would love to see Port Adelaide win a premiership.

I would love to see a vaccine for 2021.

I’d like to see it rolled out successfully across Australia and all across the world.

I would like to see Australia get back to a normalised-order arrangement with other countries as soon as it is safe to do so because I just know that it will help to accelerate our job creation in Australia, and more specifically, here in South Australia.

What are your priorities for 2021?

Jobs. We came to government saying we wanted more jobs in South Australia.

More jobs mean more South Australians choose to stay here in this state.

We have already started to see South Australia turn the corner.

When we came together, we had an exodus of young people and capital out of our state.

We have been able to arrest that in our first two years but there is plenty more work to be done.

If an election were called tomorrow, how confident are you of winning?

We don’t have an election until March 2022 and I will be working every single day between now and then to continue to deliver for our state.

What did your opposing counterpart do this year that you most admire?

I took the opportunity on many occasions to speak to the Labor leader about the COVID situation and during critical points during the year.

I appreciate the opportunity that we can live in a country where I can pick up the phone and speak to my political opponent and have a respectful conversation and I hope that it will continue.

Read Matt Smith’s Q&A with Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas, from yesterday