Press conference, Adelaide

PETER MALINAUSKAS, PREMIER OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Good morning, everybody, and thanks for joining us here at the State Administration Centre on what is a really important day as the State Government, along with the Federal Government, announce our $102.5 million response plan to the algal bloom in the State of South Australia.

I'm very pleased to be here this morning with a number of my colleagues, both state but also as importantly, federally. Murray Watt, of course, is the Minister for the Environment. It's also always a pleasure to be here with the Leader of the Senate and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong. Don Farrell, the Minister for Tourism and Trade federally, I know he’s played close attention to bloom as well, both Penny and Don. But also, Louise Miller-Frost who is here as well. Amanda and Mark, Amanda, Mark, as well as Louise have coastal electorates, and I know they've been fully abreast of the events over recent months. It's also great to be here with the Environment Minister in South Australia, Lucy Hood. I want to thank Professor Mike Steer who's with us this morning, of course, who's been leading the charge from SARDI. And I particularly want to acknowledge Kyri Toumazos, who represents the fishing industry here in South Australia. We've been working quite closely with SISA throughout the recent months. And I want to say that during an event like this, Government always looks to engage stakeholders to be able to get the perspective of others, particularly industry or the environment. And we have found the commercial fishing sector in our state to be particularly well represented through Kyri and he's made some thoughtful suggestions that we've been able to act on, which we can answer some questions about as well.

But this morning, we formally launched the $102.5 million Summer Plan. People will be familiar that this is a piece of work that we have been planning behind the scenes for many weeks now. And the reason why we've been working on this for some time is we've been determined to get it right, to make sure it is well resourced, and addresses all of the challenges that we have as a result of the harmful algal bloom. The harmful algal bloom, without doubt, is a wicked problem. It moves, it changes, it is dynamic, and it is impossible to predict. Which means we have a responsibility to make sure that we are preparing for the worst while, at the same time, hoping for the best when we contemplate the potential impacts over the summer months.

In recent weeks, we have seen good news emerge from the harmful algal bloom in terms of what is happening to the algae itself. But its impacts are clearly devastating and they are lasting. And it is particularly true that in Metropolitan Adelaide and the eastern coast of the northern part of the Yorke Peninsula, we are seeing the bloom persist. Which means there is a genuine possibility that while it could get better over summer, it could also get worse. Which is why we have to have a plan and a response package that seeks to address all of the challenges that that circumstance may present.

There have been sort of three key tranches of the effort. The first, of course, we started rolling out on Sunday in respect the impact on people's way of life, the way we can better communicate with South Australians to get them the information they need when they contemplate engagement on our coastline - whether that be nippers going to the beach, whether it be your kids enrolled in VACSWIM, whether it be you just want to spend an afternoon walking the dog along one of our beautiful parts of our coastline. We're thankful for the partnership that we've announced with Surf Life Saving in this state that enhances that effort quite dramatically with the launch of the app and seven-day-a-week rotations of lifeguards being on duty.

Yesterday, in conjunction with Minister Watt and the Federal Government, we were able to announce one of the most comprehensive economic support packages we've seen in the state's history. The sort of support that we are rolling out exceeds the State Government support that was provided to many businesses during the course of COVID. And it exceeds some of the support that we saw during the tragic summer bushfires that occurred in the Adelaide Hills and in KI a few years ago. This is a comprehensive effort to get people to our coastline so they can see firsthand that, in many respects, the perception of the bloom is more harmful than the bloom itself, at least economically.

But today, what sees the funding commitment increase to that significant number of $102.5 million is a major investment that we are making in the environment itself. This is really important. People have different interests when they contemplate the harmful algal bloom, but nothing is more important than investing in the recovery effort for the environment. We know that marine environments have the ability to be able to recover quickly. To the extent that we as human beings can aid that recovery and invest in its restoration, we should. We have an obligation to do so. And today, we do that, an investment in almost $40 million that we are making in the environmental recovery, the scientific and research effort, to make a difference where we can to ensure that when the bloom moves on, whenever that may be, that our marine environment recovers as quickly as possible.

To that end, we're investing in fishery stocking programs. We're investing in native oyster reef restoration, which I'll speak to in a moment. What we want to invest in terms of seagrasses, this matters. If we can reinstate seagrasses, if we can see native oyster reefs return to our gulfs, they will aid the recovery effort from the harmful algal bloom. And that is seeing tens of millions of dollars invested in that effort.

Science and research is what will best inform good public policymaking when we contemplate the harmful algal bloom. Not sort of conspiracy theories on social media, but good, thoughtful science is the best thing that we can invest in to make sure we make good decisions going forward, and that is represented significantly in the announcements that we made today. So, the plan seeks to invest in the economic recovery, the environmental recovery, better aid South Australians to encounter our coastline throughout the course of the summer months, because we're going to do everything we can.

We can't make the algal bloom go away. There is no silver bullet solution here. But what we can do is respond as best as we are capable of by working together and collaboratively with industry, with environmental representatives, and both state and Federal Government working hand in hand. That's what this plan represents. It's a comprehensive effort. I want to thank everybody who has contributed countless hours to this exercise, and I'm talking about a massive team of public servants, industry stakeholders, scientists, you name it. There's been a lot of effort put into this.

But I'm particularly grateful to the Federal Government. The truth is that every ask we've made on them, they've come through on, and that is represented with this size commitment. We simply couldn't have a package of this size and stature without the Federal Government being by our side. Murray has been instrumental in getting this significant amount of funding. Bearing in mind, that this is $102.5 million on top of $28 million plus other millions that was announced by the Prime Minister earlier. So, this adds up to almost $140 million worth of effort. It's one of the biggest recovery packages that I can remember in such a field. And Minister Watt has been instrumental in making sure that the Federal Government has been there every step of the way.

So, on that note, I'll hand over to Murray and then we'll hear from Lucy and Minister Farrell and Kyri and then, naturally, all of us are happy to answer any questions. Thank you.

MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Well, thanks very much, Premier. I and a number of my federal colleagues are really pleased to be with you today as you release this important Summer Plan to deal with the full range of issues that South Australians are dealing with and are asking about as we tackle this unprecedented event together.

I do want to thank the Premier and his team for the incredibly collaborative effort that has been undertaken, not just in the preparation of this plan, but over the last few months since this algal bloom first reared its head on South Australian beaches. I think Australians want to see their governments, Federal, state, whatever the parties, working together to tackle big challenges, and that's exactly what we've done since this event first kicked off. So, again, thank you to the Premier and to his team.

As the Premier has said, there’s a very strong focus on investment in science, research and our environment as part of this Summer Plan, and that is exactly how it should be. We know that, as a result of the algal bloom, South Australia’s beautiful marine environment has been very badly damaged in parts, and we need to take steps to help it recover. And this plan, released today, is the next step in Government’s supporting South Australia’s natural environment to fight back against the harmful algal bloom. We know that it is going to take time to recover - for communities to recover, for the marine environment to recover. But what’s important about today’s plan is that there's a significant investment of nearly $40 million to help South Australia's marine environment on the road to recovery. Some of those impacts will be felt quite soon, some of them will take longer. But there's a significant investment there, in addition to the money that has already been put forward by Federal and State Governments on these sorts of matters, to help our environment recover and to get back to what it was before the algal bloom hit in the first place.

So again, thanks to the Premier, thanks to his entire team on the incredibly hard work that's gone in over the last few weeks and months to get to this point. We hope that these funds will make a difference, we expect they will make a difference and we remain very ready to stand with South Australia as long as this event goes on. Thank you.

I'll now introduce Minister Hood.

LUCY HOOD, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MINISTER FOR CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Thanks to Minister Watt. I just want to reiterate the engagement and support that we've had from our Federal colleagues in regards to the Summer Plan. So, there is extensive support for environmental resilience and recovery in the Summer Plan, more than $20 million investing in nature's own recovery tools. So, that's things like native oyster reef restoration, sea grasses and support for threatened or vulnerable species. So, we have heard from all of our community forums that we've been undertaking, more than 1,800 people have attended those forums, and there is so much passion for our oceans, for our marine life and we are backing that passion with action.

So, just to describe our natural reef, oyster reefs, picture South Australia after colonisation. Our ocean floor was covered in natural oyster reefs. Now, they are like the filtration system of our ocean. One oyster can filter an entire bathtub of water. So, imagine millions of those oysters all across our ocean floor. Now, they were harvested, they were ripped up after colonisation and, effectively, were disappeared by the 1920s. And so what we're do is invest in those, nature’s recovery tools, like native oyster reef restoration to bring back that natural filtration system for our oceans, which also backs better biodiversity, water quality and support for threatened and vulnerable species.

So, I'm thrilled to be able to announce, with our federal colleagues, this extensive support for our environment. And as we said, we are backing the passion that South Australians have for our marine environment with action.

I'll now pass over to Minister Farrell.

DON FARRELL, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND TOURISM: Well, thank you, Lucy, and thank you, Premier, and my two very good ministerial colleagues for being here today. And of course, Kyri, who I worked very closely with when we were seeking to restore our trade with China, particularly our crayfish.

My earliest memories are of going down to the Fleurieu Peninsula, spending our Christmas holidays on the beautiful beaches of Normanville. And since that time, I've spent lots of Christmases down there. I've taken my children down there, and now my grandchildren, and I'll certainly be doing that again this Christmas.

Tourism is a very important part of that time of year in South Australia There are lots and lots of businesses that rely on the Christmas holidays to make money that keeps them going for the rest of the year. A significant part of this package is, in fact, designed to assist those tourism businesses that are potentially affected by the bloom. And so, I want to work with the South Australian Government, so a combination of the Federal Government, the Albanese Government and the Malinauskas Government working to ensure that South Australians know that there's an opportunity to go to the beach at Christmas, like they always love to do. And this package makes a significant contribution to that effort. It makes it easier to make a booking. And what we want to do, of course, is ensure that all South Australians know that this Christmas the coast is for them. Thank you.

KYRI TOUMAZOS, SEAFOOD INDUSTRY SOUTH AUSTRALIA: From Seafood Industry South Australia and the South Australian seafood and fishing families, we really welcome this announcement. We really thank the Premier and his team here in South Australia, but we also really thank their Federal Labor team which are close friends with us and have always been very collaborative across the journey of trade, and now environment. So, we're really thankful for and grateful for the opportunity that they have provided for us to work collaboratively, we learn to get through this difficulty.

From seafood and coastal communities around South Australia what this brings, it brings the ability to continue being resilient during turbulent times. But what we ask for governments is governments that listen and governments that actually understand the need for support. And the Malinauskas Labor Government, together with the Albanese Federal Government have been extremely supportive across all of these things that we have asked. And as industry, you cannot possibly ask any more from government than to listen and provide that opportunity to work with them.  I think that will form an extremely positive partnership over the journey. There is short, medium and long term effects of the algal bloom and we are extremely positive that this partnership will continue to tackle any challenges that come, and we will overcome them.

From a seafood industry perspective here in South Australia, our biggest encouragement is for greater consumption of South Australian seafood. Our group is localised. We have majority of our South Australian coast extremely clean, pristine and is producing the highest quality fish enjoyed by community here in South Australia, interstate and overseas. And really, from a Seafood Industry South Australia perspective, we encourage that continued and increased consumption of South Australian seafood. So, thank you.

JOURNALIST: If I could start with Kyri, if that’s all right? I appreciate this only being announced this morning, but what sort of feedback and reaction have you had from the industry about this expansion of the grants?

KYRI TOUMAZOS: All positive because, as I said, you can only ask governments to listen and government, this particular Government, both Federally and State, are listening. So as an industry, we engage with our members, we take our problems, we go with constructive solutions to government. And Peter and his team here in South Australia is always delivering on that.

JOURNALIST: Been hearing from the industry that people are able to apply and actually get these grants. I’ve heard some people say that, you know, they're comparing income versus fish returns and things like that. Are people able to access them?

KYRI TOUMAZOS: Absolutely. Yeah, no, absolutely they are accessing them. Obviously we're spending taxpayers' money and we're spending community money, so there has to be a process of robustness around that. Our industry is working extremely close to support those fishers and whoever needs the support is getting the support.

JOURNALIST: The Government is spending obviously a significant amount of money going to advertising. What do you hearing from industry? Are sales going up at all?

KYRI TOUMAZOS: Now is a period of time, between now and Christmas, that sales gradually increase traditionally. So, together with the Government, we are going to empower that advertising. We're doing internal processes to do that as well. I'm actually extremely positive that over the next three months. We will regain back the trust of the community and we will get back to historic, if not higher consumption levels.

JOURNALIST: Kyri, when you were consulting with the Government over the summer plan, what were the non-negotiables that you needed to see for the industry to survive?

KYRI TOUMAZOS: Basically, the reason why we’re here very supportive of the announcement is because all our non-negotiables have been met. So from an industry perspective, we cannot possibly ask any more of the Peter Malinauskas Labor Government here. They’re listening to what are the non-negotiables, they’re doing it in a timely manner, which is very important, and we’re going to continue to do that in the future.

JOURNALIST: What were those, though, those non-negotiables?

KYRI TOUMAZOS: Well, as you would have heard from the announcements today, we needed some immediate continued support for the families that are impacted. That was done. We’re talking on some bigger medium to longer term stuff, and we have commitment for them too. So really, from an industry perspective, we cannot possibly ask any more.

JOURNALIST: So you felt pretty safe, if this bloom does continue on for another two or three or however long, that there are plans in place financially to back the seafood industry?

KYRI TOUMAZOS: Absolutely there is, and also the commitment for us to talk about the longer term while we’re going through these turbulent times is extremely important, because obviously people’s psychology and mental health needs to be looked at all times. The Government has already backed one major initiative in that mental health space, and we are talking about an extension that program, so we’re extremely grateful for that.

JOURNALIST: Premier, there’s been quite a significant focus on this announcement being on investing in the natural environment and the research and monitoring more than what we’ve seen so far. Why has this element come now and not earlier?

PETER MALINAUSKAS: Well, there has been investment in the research reports all the way going back to the beginning. That’s obvious. And that research effort, we’re running at full pace in terms of if there’s something we need to fund in a research area, we’ve been making funding available. There’s also a capacity to dial that up as other technology can be trialled or pursued. And yeah, what we’re starting to see is the market respond with presentation of other technological opportunities that we’re very interested in, and Mike and others can talk about the detail.

But in terms of the environmental effort, as the bloom progresses, we have the capacity to start to think about what happens in a recovery context. And we've already obviously announced different versions of the oyster reef restoration, but that can be enhanced through native oyster reef restoration, which is a different program again, along with the seagrass recovery and also the threatened species. We're anticipating that on Thursday that we start to get more advice coming back through our fish stock assessment exercise. That's been going on for some time now, and we're starting to hopefully see the results come through this Thursday, which then turns our mind to what we can do for threatened marine life in terms of protection activity. We are lucky in South Australia that SARDI is a well credentialed scientific organisation that knows a lot about our gulf system in particular, which is where we see the biggest impacts, and what we can do around recovery and species there.

JOURNALIST: A lot of it, though, has it been working through the unknown? Is that why this -

PETER MALINAUSKAS: Oh, yeah. The major perennial challenge with the algal bloom is that it's unprecedented. We haven't seen anything like this in our big gulf system before. An algal bloom of this size and scale has no precedent in our nation's history. We've had algal blooms, but never of this size and scale, so we're learning as we proceed. And the more that we learn, the more we can invest in how to respond to it, and that's what you see evidence of here today.

JOURNALIST: We've obviously got quite a comprehensive Summer Plan. Where does your attention now to and the taskforce's attention turn to?

PETER MALINAUSKAS: Well, the taskforce will continue to meet. We want to continue to monitor the performance of the bloom and have a reporting mechanism for that and share that information publicly. We'll continue to share the cell count data as we get that. But of course, we had to find a way to present information to the community that's more, I guess, retail friendly, so to speak, when you're thinking about a question as simple as do I go to the beach or not? But in terms of ongoing work, we're looking forward on Thursday, all the things being equal, to getting more results from that fish stock assessment, and that potentially will inform other decisions that have to be made. That work will continue and has to continue. But, I mean, at least we've now got a plan that we can focus on enacting. That's important as well. But we have to remain nimble, right? Because we don't know how it will perform, we remain flexible to responding in other ways that may be required. I mean, there is a possibility, I'm not betting on this outcome - far from it, but there is a possibility that the algal bloom dissipates from the Gulf of St Vincent in a way we've seen in the Southern Fleurieu. I'm not saying that's likely, but it's a possibility. Now, if that occurs, you have to start contemplating, should we recalibrate some of these resources elsewhere? But this is a plan, like I said, where we're preparing for the worst and hoping for the best, notwithstanding the fact that we have to remain agile to respond to any other new issues that may present themselves.

JOURNALIST: Some regional people have felt that a lot more attention was paid to this once it reached metro beaches. What is there in this plan that is specifically for the regions? If we're looking at things like the life saving, they're not getting that like -

PETER MALINAUSKAS: Well, they are. No, they are -

JOURNALIST: Outside of Aldinga and down south though? -

PETER MALINAUSKAS: Well, we have to allocate resources to where the need is greatest. And we're doing that across regional South Australia as much as metropolitan Adelaide. The coastal communities are telling us around what is happening economically in particular. Obviously, coastal communities that have commercial fishing as part of their, I guess, their economic well-being, we're obviously responding to that in conjunction with SISA and Kyri’s team. But in terms of the economic impact in terms of tourism, that is more noticeable in regional communities, which is why disproportionately we see the travel vouchers being orientated towards regional South Australia as you can expect.

JOURNALIST: What has been the outcome of the travel vouchers? I know it's probably a little early to tell, but was there a good uptake on it recent -

PETER MALINAUSKAS: There has been a good uptake, and we've had plenty of positive feedback from both accommodation providers, but actually more so on the experience side. But we can - the feedback that we've got has allowed us to expand the eligibility for access. So obviously this time around, we're making it available to eligible Airbnb users with an ABN and who are registered on the Tourism Data Warehouse, which is a pretty straightforward process for them to go to if they haven't already. And similarly, we're reaching out to KI by making the experience vouchers available on the ferry which we hope helps KI, particularly given that KI thankfully are largely at the moment unaffected by the bloom. So we see the impacts along the oysters in KI and American River, but in terms of the bloom, along the coastline it's clear. So we are genuinely trying to throw everything at this in a reasonable way. It's a lot of money.

JOURNALIST: In the first round of vouchers, though, you didn’t include Airbnb. You were pretty steadfast on saying that those people in the city that have just got a second form of income shouldn't be getting that. Do you accept that that was wrong? Is that a mistake?

PETER MALINAUSKAS: No, what we've done is we’re expanding to Airbnb operators that it's a more sophisticated operation than that description. So that hence the ABN registration and being on the Tourism Data Warehouse, which is really aimed at someone who might be operating four or five Airbnbs commercially, for instance. Why we’re seeking to accommodate that change is we just want to get people to coastal communities. And I think it’s known I spent a bit a time on Yorke Peninsula a couple of days on the long weekend, and getting more people there is good for the fish and tackle shop, it’s good for the beachside kiosk. It’s good for everyone, and that’s why we’re extending the [inaudible].

JOURNALIST: You were told that, though, before the last set of school holidays that we’ve just finished. Why didn’t you think of that at the other round?

PETER MALINAUSKAS: Well, because we're open to expanding eligibility where we can. It's harder to bring eligibility back than it is opening it up. Taking things away from people is always harder than piping things up as you learn more, and that’s something we’re very happy to do.

JOURNALIST: What does the Office of Algal Bloom Research look like? What's the point? What is it?

PETER MALINAUSKAS: Well, I might get Mike or Lucy to add more to this. Establishing a dedicated effort is important, and where we can scale up resources to underpin that exercise, we should, and that's what this investment is in. This is about making sure there is an office, whose exclusive responsibility, [inaudible] from doing it on top of other tasks, is a dedicated exercise. So for instance, you’ve got to remember, SARDI does research across a range of things, not just the marine environment but agriculturally as well. It’s a pretty sophisticated, quite large outfit employing 200 or 300 people who are largely scientists. So we’ve got to acknowledge that they’ve been taking a lot of their effort away from other areas to focus in on this, by having a dedicated exercise that’s funded and resourced to focus on the algal bloom, and ensures we’re not doing that at the expense of research in other fields which remains important.

JOURNALIST: Does that mean DPC then takes a step back?

PETER MALINAUSKAS: No, DPC’s coordinating role will remain, because this is an across government exercise. What you see here is we have to have the South Australian Tourism Commission engaged. We have to make sure that we’ve got SARDI engaged, PIRSA engaged. There are, you know, the Office of Sport and Rec are engaged, engaging with surf lifesavers but other community exercises. So, just having a coordinating function between DPC makes sense.

JOURNALIST: There isn't any health advice or anything mentioned in this algal bloom Summer Plan. Should there be anything updated? Should there be more money spent on that given there has been some confusion recently?

PETER MALINAUSKAS: No, we continue to promote the health advice that is consistent information that we distribute to the South Australian community, both in written form but also in electronic broadcasts, and advertising continues to contain public health information and that won't stop. And that advice remains clear and consistent.

JOURNALIST: How's the algal bloom hotline been?

PETER MALINAUSKAS: Yep, it had been used. It has been, I can get you, in fact, the exact numbers if you like. It's probably been used a bit more than I anticipated, to be honest. I got the figures after 48 hours, we’re happy to share those with you.

JOURNALIST: Obviously, you do say it’s a lot of money in this package. Why hasn't this been labelled as a natural disaster?

PETER MALINAUSKAS: Right. I've said this a couple of times, it’s worthy of repetition. We've got our view and we've made that clear and the Federal Government's responded as well. But understand this, people have I think drawn the [inaudible] between a natural disaster declaration and allocation of funds. If this was being sought to get funds under the natural disaster allocation, none of these measures are getting funding the way they are. We're not getting anywhere near a contribution of over $50 million to this plan, let alone the money that was being allocated previously. In fact, it would be far smaller than that. And it would be, in application of the Federal Government's criteria, which they've got to have, what we would see is money not being able to be applied as flexibly as was occurred here. Having the package being done bilaterally between the State and the Federal Governments working collaboratively provides flexibility so we can support the fishing tackle shop owner with a downturn in their grant. We can support the commercial fishing sector in what they're doing. We can have ads on TV. We can see dining cashback vouchers. None of that is contemplated in what would have otherwise been a Category D allocation.

So while I understand the interest in that subject, and it speaks to plain language, I think it would be a misrepresentation to suggest that somehow that declaration would put us in a better position. In fact, you know, if we had strictly adhered to that process, we wouldn't have the scale or the flexibility of funding that we see being applied here in this instance. And for that reason, I am particularly grateful to the Prime Minister and everyone down. I’ve spoken to Prime Minister Albanese about this on a number of occasions. I'd imagine that having as many South Australians at the most senior levels of the Government, it would be impossible for him to ignore it, which we're grateful for. And then, of course, Murray's been here now frequently as well. So I think that puts us in a stronger position than what would otherwise be the case.

JOURNALIST: Did you ask for that disaster declaration though? You said earlier that you got everything you asked for.

PETER MALINAUSKAS: If we went back in time and got that, we wouldn't be in as strong a position as we are in now, so I think you know we've made our views known and that's been, you know, fully digested and sort of crawled over. But I'd simply make the point that why would we want something that's more restrictive? What we've got here is a Government responding to the requests that they get before them and not holding back in allocating the resources. And I, for one, I think that what it actually looks like is two Governments working responsibly together to address the legitimate challenges rather than worrying about bureaucratic processes, and I think that's what a crisis like this demands.

PENNY WONG, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: This is a world leading plan. This is a world leading plan for the South Australian environment, and I really want to congratulate the Premier, Murray Watt, Minister Hood and all of their teams for putting together what is both scientifically rigorous but also creative in terms of progress. South Australians should know that this plan is not only for the next few weeks or the next few months, but it is a plan for the long term, and all of us along our coastline will be very happy about that.

JOURNALIST: Just on the hostage release, how much credit do you give Donald Trump for it?

PENNY WONG: I said on Friday when this news broke, he deserves enormous congratulations for this. The US engagement and the engagement of this US President has been critical in enabling the ceasefire, the release of hostages, and a pathway to peace in the Middle East. So enormous credit goes to President Trump and his administration.

JOURNALIST: So you are confident we will see peace in the Middle East?

PENNY WONG: Look, what I've said is this is the biggest step towards peace in the Middle East that we've seen in a generation. And it's hard. But we call on all parties to discharge their responsibilities under the agreement. And we welcome and congratulate the United States and the US President in particular on playing this decisive role. In relation to the hostages if I may, the release of hostages has been a day of relief and a day of joy around the world. It's also a day of immense grief for those who do not have someone coming home. And we want to recognise that and say that our hearts go out to them. We all hope for peace in the Middle East. And may this work continue.

JOURNALIST: How likely is it that we will see a two-state solution, do you think?

PENNY WONG: There is a lot of work before that can eventuate. But what I would say to you is there is no sustainable long-term peace in the Middle East for both Israelis and Palestinians unless there are two states.

JOURNALIST: Minister, can I just grab you before you go? In November, Adelaide's going to host the volleyball world championships.

PENNY WONG: Alright, that was a flick.

JOURNALIST: The Netherlands have selected a convicted paedophile to represent them here. His visa is still pending. Is it appropriate that we grant a visa to a convicted paedophile to come and compete in a world event here?

PENNY WONG: Well, the Minister for Home Affairs has appropriate powers in relation to the entry of people into Australia, and I'm sure Minister Burke will consider that very carefully.

JOURNALIST: Would you hope -

PENNY WONG: I think all of us would regard, I don't know the factual – that's the first time I've heard that, but I think all of us would regard that crime as particularly horrific.

JOURNALIST: Premier, just on the Gus search recommencing, are you comfortable with the initial police response and also their decision to pull back on the search last week or the week before?

PETER MALINAUSKAS: Yeah, look, naturally I spoke to South Australian Police this morning in advance of their announcement of a new stand-up taskforce. The Police Commissioner, I understand, has already stood up this morning and addressed the nature of that taskforce and those inquiries. What I’m confident in is that South Australian Police have allocated all of the resources they have at their disposal to try and find Gus and understand what exactly has transpired here. It's obviously tragic when we see any child lost. It's particularly tragic when we don't know exactly what's happened and question marks still remain. I hope those questions get answered and I hope this taskforce contributes to that effort.