Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas says he’ll chair transition committee if elected

Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas will chair the transition committee if elected, he says, in stark contrast to Premier Steven Marshall.

Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas will join and chair the Covid transition committee if Labor wins the next election.

Announcing the plan at the Australian Hotels Association Christmas lunch in a room full of business leaders as well as the hospitality industry, Mr Malinauskas drew the distinction between himself and Premier Steven Marshall who is not on the committee.

AHA members have been among the industries hardest hit by Covid restrictions including ongoing venue capacity limits, as well as mask requirements and bans on dancing.

They also have been affected by border closures, the collapse of international tourism and varying requirements during the course of the pandemic limiting stand-up drinks and limits on guests at functions such as weddings.

Mr Malinauskas said a premier should not sit outside the room waiting to be told what was happening when Covid policy decisions affect everybody in the state.

Leader of the opposition Peter Malinauskas. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“The people of South Australia elect the premier to lead and to be at the table when the big decisions are being made – that is exactly what I intend to do,” he said.

However, Mr Marshall dismissed Mr Malinauskas’ pledge, telling The Advertiser: “He wants to chair a committee that won’t even exist”.

“The transition committee goes when we get to 90 per cent vaccination,” he said

Mr Malinauskas stressed Police Commissioner Grant Stevens would retain all existing legal power under the major emergency declaration and, with chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier, would continue as a key member of the committee, providing expert health advice.

Mr Malinauskas appears to be positioning himself as a “hands-on” premier in waiting in the mould of NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet with his pledge to take charge of the transition committee.

The committe also includes senior health and treasury officials.

While not on the transition committee, which decides on winding back restrictions, Mr Marshall chairs the government’s Covid-ready committee aimed at ensuring SA is prepared to deal with Covid-related issues.

Chief executive of the Department for the Premier and Cabinet Nick Reade, who chairs the transition committee, was in the audience as was Mr Marshall, a host of MPs, union leaders, Mr Stevens, Adelaide Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor, top bureaucrats, tourism leaders and other city leaders.

“If elected premier I will chair the directions committee, I will chair the transition committee, I will assume that responsibility because I believe it is the right thing to do,” Mr Malinauskas said.

“The premier of the state needs to be in the room. If the people of SA give me the keys to the car I will drive it.”

Mr Marshall told the lunch: “South Australia is now the fastest-growing economy in the country for the first time ever - we’ve had the fewest days lost to Covid of any jurisdiction.”

Noting there was net migration “back to SA for the first time in 40 years” he went on to say “I have never ever felt more optimistic about the future of South Australia, the trajectory is bow set and we are moving in the right direction.”

It comes as the state government grapples with the threat of a “Christmas is in chaos” with confusion and concern about changing border rules and new rules around visiting public hospitals.

There were four new cases of Covid reported on Monday.

That brings to 971 the total number of cases reported in South Australia to date.

Monday’s cases are two men aged in their 20s and 60s and two women aged in their 30s and 50s.

Meanwhile, a mystery case who was previously classified as unlinked and spent time in the Port Noarlunga region has been identified as a false positive. There is no risk to the public and this case has been removed from SA Health’s numbers.