Liberals give conditional support to free school plan, as Labor pledges OSHC expansion
The SA Liberals have given conditional support to Labor's free school plan, as Labor also pledges to expand out of school hours care. (ABC News)
In short:
The SA opposition has flagged its intent to back Labor's election promise to make public schooling free, in a sign the measure is likely to proceed, no matter who forms government.
As both parties took to the campaign trail on Monday, Labor promised further funding for out of school hours care and the Liberals pushed for upgrades to take trucks off Portrush and Cross roads.
What's next?
The South Australian election will be held on March 21.
The South Australian Liberals have given conditional support to Labor's promise to end public school fees from next year, cautioning they still want more detail on where the funding is coming from.
If they officially commit to the pledge, it would mean parents would not have to pay primary or high school fees, no matter who forms government.
The major election announcement from Labor on Sunday is to scrap public school fees for all students from next year, at a cost of $300 million over four years.
The Liberals initially said they welcomed the concept of reducing school fees, but did not expressly back the policy.
However, Liberal leader Ashton Hurn has since given the party's support, but noted she still wants to see more funding details, ahead of new legislation passing SA Parliament.
"Pulling levers to help, when it comes to cost of living, has merit — that's why we're happy to support this idea,"she said.
Robert Simms also backed the plan to make public schools free. (ABC News: Tony Hill)
Greens MLC Robert Simms has backed the announcement too, noting it was a copy of his own policy.
But he urged the government to go further and make breakfasts and lunches free at all public schools, as well as excursion and uniform costs.
More primary schools to get OSHC under Labor
On Monday, Labor also announced plans to add new out of school hours care (OSHC) to 68 schools, across four years.
Labor leader Peter Malinauskas said currently "tens of thousands" of kids did not get access to OSHC and this new policy would create 2,300 extra spots, as part of a broader plan to have it available at every public primary school within 10 years.
"Working parents, they don't always finish at 3:30 in the afternoon when school finishes, which means someone's got to look after the kids when they're still at work,"he said.
"You don't want to see parents having to make the diabolical choice between either picking up their kid from school or having to work to be able to earn the money to be able to provide for their families."
Peter Malinauskas announced a plan to add out of school hours care services at more SA schools. (ABC News: Carl Saville)
Education and Skills Minister Blair Boyer said the policy was also an "economic lever" that would deliver a "a real win" for the South Australian economy be enabling parents to work longer hours.
He said current school hours did not reflect modern working life, but OSHC had been a "forgotten" part of the education system for years.
Liberals demand freight bypass
On the hustings in the marginal Liberal-held seat of Hammond, which takes in Murray Bridge, Ms Hurn pledged $211 million to deliver a major freight bypass and accused Labor of doing nothing for the area.
"They've been operating South Australia for 20 out of the last 24 years and they've done sweet FA when it comes to Hammond," she said.
Her commitment would take interstate trucks off the downhill South Eastern Freeway, ensure a heavy vehicle bypass for Truro and duplicate the Swanport Bridge, plus get trucks off city roads.
"Getting trucks off Portrush Road should be the number one objective of the current government, but it's not," she said.
Ashton Hurn has pledged to deliver a major freight bypass in SA. (ABC News)
Ms Hurn warned without this work, traffic congestion would increase and "potentially grind to a halt".
Under state and federal government funding arrangements, delivery of the bypass also requires federal government funding, which has been a long-running political fight.
Ms Hurn said a Liberal state government would demand Canberra "stump up" and pay 80 per cent of the project's cost.
At her press conference, Ms Hurn was also pressed on Liberal candidate Amar Singh promoting a now-scrapped policy to abolish stamp duty by 2041 on social media, but said it did not concern her because her party's new policy was clear.
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