SA's swipe at Victoria as the state plunges into lockdown
As South Australia prepares to lockdown at midnight, one politician has taken aim at Victoria’s handling of one key part.
Striking a different tone to Opposition Leaders during the lockdowns of other state’s (particularly in Victoria), South Australia’s Peter Malinauskas has spoken out in support of the Government’s announcements this afternoon.
Taking to Facebook, Malinauskas said that while he understands the concerns coming from residents, “here in our home, we’re going to take on this challenge the South Australian way”.
“Doing this the South Australian way means we’re going to look after each other as much as we look after ourselves,” he said.
“We’re going to fight for each other, not against each other.
“Which means, as far as I’m concerned, unlike in Victoria, as Opposition Leader I’m here to support the government, not undermine it.”
On the other hand, South Australians have gone against recommendations and flocked to grocery stores to purchase goods ahead of midnight, when a six-day shut down begins.
Footage has been shared of long lines outside of supermarkets, bottle shops and pharmacies, after Premier Steven Marshall announced the “circuit breaker” will see most services closed until next week.
Though grocery stores will remain open, with Police Commissioner Grant Stevens telling residents that there’s “no need for panic buying”.
“There is no need for people to rush to supermarkets, and if you do go shopping this afternoon, you should expect that you will be managed by staff at the supermarkets and we will have police officers on standby to attend if we see any civil disorder and we would take action,” he said.
“This is completely unacceptable.”
There are now 22 cases linked to the Parafield cluster, which grew rapidly after a cleaner at one of Adelaide’s medi-hotels accidentally caught the virus from a surface and spread it to her family.