“I don’t want to be offensive to South Australians, but why would you want to go there?” These words from Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews may very well lead to a cold war between the two neighbouring states.
Andrews made the comments during a press conference earlier today (Wednesday, June 17th). Though, to be fair, Andrews’ riposte wasn’t entirely unprompted. The South Australian government has reopened its borders to residents of Western Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania. However, anyone hoping to visit from the eastern states and territories will need to quarantine for 14 days after arriving.
So Andrews wasn’t having a dig for the sake of it. Rather, he was trying to encourage tourism within his own state. “The best experiences in our nation are right here in Victoria,” he said. “Go skiing, go to the wine country, go down to the beach, whatever it might be. Victorians, I think, will be very keen to be close to home.”
Andrews, who leads the Labor Party, went on to emphasise the importance of intra-state tourism for jobs and for bringing money into bushfire-affected communities. But he couldn’t help himself from having another dig at Victoria’s western neighbours. “Don’t get too stressed they won’t let you into Adelaide. Why would you really want to go there?”
The comments certainly didn’t go unnoticed. South Australian premier (and Liberal Party politician) Steven Marshall flipped footage of Andrews’ comments into a tourism ad for the state.
@DanielAndrewsMP asked why anyone would want to go to South Australia.
Well Dan, here's why 👇 pic.twitter.com/JdhG4DwLKB
— Steven Marshall (@marshall_steven) June 17, 2020
South Australia Liberal Senator Andrew McLachlan was also unimpressed. McLachlan put out a media statement under the heading “Response to comments by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews asking why anyone would want to go to South Australia.” The statement itself consisted of just three words: “To escape you.”
The Murdoch owned Adelaide Advertiser didn’t hold back either, running the headline “Scandal-Ridden Premier Of Virus-Plagued State Sledges SA.” Ouch. South Australia was set to ease the restrictions on travellers from eastern states and territories on July 20th. But after this row, who knows what will happen.
Check out ‘Melbourne Awaits’ via Visit Melbourne:
