LUMEN Spring 2022 - Flipbook - Page 34
Most recently, it completed a
number of papers about the effects
of COVID on our economy.
We spoke with Associate Professor
Michael O’Neil, Executive Director
at SACES, to discover more
about some of these short and
longer-term impacts.
Interestingly, for the
first time since the early
1990s, South Australia
saw an increase in
interstate migration,
with a growing number
of people from other
states seeing South
Australia as an
attractive state to
wait out the pandemic.
Many industries felt the impacts of
COVID – none more so than the
hotel industry. A snap lockdown in
November 2020 saw businesses shut
down for six days with no warning.
SACES was commissioned to report
on the full impact of the lockdown
and found:
• between $7–10 million worth of
food and alcohol were wasted.
• $100 million in turnover lost.
• 12,500 fewer jobs.
• $30 million of lost sales for food
and produce suppliers.
• employment is estimated to have
dropped by almost 80%, or 20,000
per day.
The report found more consultation
was needed with industry to strike a
balance between reducing the risks
to the community and suppressing
the virus, while also meeting the
hotel industry’s needs.
In future, whether it be another
COVID-19 outbreak or something
else, Michael said putting some more
targeted geographical restrictions
could help reduce the costs to
the economy.
“When there are only cases of
COVID seen in city areas, there is
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THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
no reason to close a country pub,
or cancel weddings and funerals in
those areas, provided intrastate travel
is restricted,” he said.
Michael said another takeaway from
the report was a recommendation on
giving businesses warning of
a lockdown.
“Advanced warning is critical to
minimise disruption and wastage,
allowing for food stock to be sent
elsewhere to benefit the community,”
he said.
“With very little warning, businesses
were forced to dump millions
in food.”
Along with the November 2020
lockdown report, SACES was also
commissioned to do a series of
reports on the effects of COVID-19
on the South Australian economy,
investigating population trends and
migration, workforce shortages
and employment. These were
commissioned by the Independent
Research Fund (IRF).
IRF was established in 2018 by
the South Australian business
community. It approached
SACES with a desire to support
independent, broad-based, public
policy research of benefit to the
South Australian economy and the
wider community. The IRF is made
up of corporate members from the
private sector. The purpose of the
fund is to expand SACES economic
research, including:
• deepening, widening and
stimulating publication and
economic debate.
• commissioning and subsidising
research into the economic,
industry and social policy issues
of importance to South Australia’s
economic, industrial and social
development.
• providing evidence-based research
and public discussion on issues
that underpin or impede
economic, industrial and social
policy development in South
Australia.
“The IRF commissioned us to look
at population trends, the changing
demographics in the state and to
overcome some of the employment
shocks,” said Michael.
“Moving forward, these reports
will help inform policy and inform
decisions around our recovery from
the pandemic.”
These papers revealed some
interesting migration trends as a
direct result of COVID-19. When
the borders closed in 2020, it may
have contained the virus’ spread,
but it also had a significant impact
on migration and South Australia’s
population. The closed borders
brought international student arrivals
and overseas migration to a halt.
“South Australian population growth
relies on overseas migration. With
the borders closed, we found the
population in the state essentially
came to a standstill,” Michael said.
Interestingly, for the first time since
