SA Premier fails economics 101 with international students return

Amid a growing backlash from residents at home and abroad, South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has given a poor defence for allowing international students to fly into Adelaide while South Australians are stranded interstate and overseas, and residents from Victorian and NSW are also banned from entering:

Marshall this morning acknowledged there was a “huge amount of anxiety” in the community about his decision to let up to 300 final year students fly-in to Adelaide from Singapore next month to resume their studies, but he said the move was warranted to revive a $1.9 billion international student industry left shattered by coronavirus-prompted travel restrictions.

It followed concerns yesterday that the pilot – approved by the federal and state governments over the weekend – could compromise South Australia’s strict border controls and would prioritise the repatriation of international students over Australian residents who are stuck overseas due to limited flights…