Covid-19: SA’s pandemic response under official review after emergency coronavirus operations ended

A major review launched into SA’s Covid-19 pandemic response will be ‘as transparent as possible” – but authorities say it will not scrutinise why crucial decisions were made.

Premier Peter Malinauskas announces the end of the emergency declaration. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

A major official review has been launched into South Australia’s Covid-19 pandemic response.

The state government on Tuesday announced a key committee is scrutinising how authorities responded to the coronavirus emergency from March 2020.

The whole of government inquiry, which will only evaluate how key Covid decisions were made rather than why, or when, authorities decided on particular rules, is due to conclude by year’s end.

Under state emergency laws, all government processes or rules around decision-making are reviewed once operations end.

The $75,000 review’s findings will be made public.

Premier Peter Malinauskas chairs the first Emergency Management Council Cabinet Sub-Committee meeting last year with Police Commissioner Grant Stevens and chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

The State Emergency Management Committee, which Department of Premier and Cabinet chief executive Damien Walker chairs, is overseeing the review that will target responses made until May last year when the Covid-19 state of emergency declaration was axed after 793 days.

The government declaration, launched on March 22 2020, gave Police Commissioner Grant Stevens extraordinary powers to impose 289 legal directions as state Covid co-ordinator.

These included imposing lockdowns, quarantine orders, business or home gathering restrictions as well as vaccine, mask and other health-related mandates.

Education Department chief Martin Westwell, Health Minister Chris Picton, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, Premier Peter Malinauskas and chief public health officer, Professor Nicola Spurrier announce the end of the emergency declaration last May after 793 days. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

Last year Premier Peter Malinauskas ordered all Covid decision be debated in Cabinet’s Emergency Management Council.

New public health laws that passed parliament last year, paved the way for the emergency axing.

Fresh restrictions will need another 28-day declaration under emergency management laws but government officials say this is now extremely unlikely.

SA Health on Tuesday revealed taxpayers will spend $75,000 on management consultants BRM Advisory to review its response as the “control agency”.

The review will also investigate SA Health’s interactions with other government agencies such as SA Police, DPC, Transport or the Human Services department.

In a note to staff late on Tuesday, chief executive, Robyn Lawrence, said key staff will be interviewed “to understand the role SA Health had in the Covid-19 response”, which will provide new rules for any future emergencies.

“We have never experienced an emergency event as long and as complex as the response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the learnings are important considerations for how future events are managed,” she said.

Former Premier Steven Marshall in January last year at a Covid update. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Emma Brasier

In a statement, chief public health officer, Professor Nicola Spurrier – who became one of the main faces of the pandemic – said the review was being taken “very seriously”

“It’s important to be as transparent as possible,” Prof Spurrier said.

“There’s certainly not going to be anything to hide.”

Prof Spurrier said learnings needed to be taken from the pandemic response “because we know it’s going to happen again”.

“It’s more about what structures were put in place,” she said.

Last week the World Health Organisation announced the pandemic, which killed millions of people and wreaked economic and social havoc, was no longer considered a “global” emergency despite the threat from Covid still evident.

SA has recorded 1419 Covid-related deaths from almost 1 million cases. There are currently 120 patients with the virus in hospital, eight of whom are in intensive care.

Originally published as Covid-19: SA’s pandemic response under official review after emergency coronavirus operations ended