SA election debate: Economy, health in focus as Steven Marshall, Peter Malinauskas go head-to-head

Steven Marshall makes Covid concessions, smacks down big-spending Labor in strong performance against Peter Malinauskas.

Premier Steven Marshall, left and Opposition Leader Peter Malinouskas during the SA Press Club debate at the Hilton Hotel in Adelaide. Pictures: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has conceded, in an election debate dominated by health and the economy and Labor’s big-spending agenda, that the state could have lifted some corona­virus restrictions earlier.

Mr Marshall said SA’s strength had been listening to health advice on the virus but in hindsight some restrictions could have been lifted more quickly.

“We didn’t tell anybody to drink bleach, we didn’t drive fear,” he said. “I think that in retrospect you could have lifted some of the restrictions earlier.”

It came as Labor leader Peter Malinauskas conceded Labor’s recurrent and capital spending commitments had reached $2.7bn, opening the way for a Liberal scare campaign on economic management as the state heads towards the final week of the campaign.

Mr Marshall – whose campaign has been criticised for lacking vigour and charisma – performed strongly in the debate by relying heavily on SA’s relatively strong economic performance during the pandemic and the fact the state had experienced one of the best outcomes globally in treating and warding off the virus.

Until the debate, Mr Malinauskas has been seen to have run a more successful campaign, with both major parties predicting privately that Labor had entered the last 10 days as the notional front­runners.

Mr Marshall said his government had engineered a climate where the state was growing rapidly, relying on hi-tech and other modern economy jobs. “This is the most important election in the history of the state,” he said.

He came under intense pressure over ambulance ramping, with Mr Malinauskas claiming the issue had been a stain on the government, with the issue deteriorating significantly under the ­Liberal Party. “What you get from me is a solution to fix the problem,” he said.

Both leaders were exposed on the issue of sexism and women, with Mr Malinauskas having made a quip to a group of male Young Liberals that they were girls during a morning run when they couldn’t keep up.

Mr Marshall slapped down his Labor opponent over his comments: “They speak to an era that is long gone.”

Mr Malinauskas said SA had entered a period that was the most crucial since the end of World War II and the Marshall government could not be trusted with running the state during the rebuilding phase.

He said after the war there had been a sense of fatigue but “there was a sense of hope and ambition” as well.

He urged voters to embrace the ALP on March 19, declaring there were similar opportunities as to 1945. “We have such a moment in time right now,” he said.

Mr Marshall has faced heavy pressure over the pandemic and the state of the health system after the state reopened in November, with the government on Thursday announcing a further round of easing of restrictions.

Mr Malinauskas pointedly did not scrutinise Mr Marshall over his handling of the coronavirus, still a significant election issue.

SA stayed in lockdown for only 10 days compared with 262 in ­Melbourne. “We all know that our health system is in crisis,” Mr Malinauskas said.

Mr Marshall, who may have to rely on deals with independents to stay in office, said he was interested only in majority government.

“I am asking for a majority government to be elected,” he said.

Mr Malinauskas responded: “I share the Premier’s ambition for a majority government.”

He also said Labor, if elected, would produce a culture of discipline rather than the conflict in the Liberals in the past four years.