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Newly minted South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas isn't going to spend his time in power complaining about the state's share of GST, or other perennial issues.

The Labor leader instead wants to focus on the future.

After a landslide election win in March Mr Malinauskas used a Wednesday National Press Club address to introduce his agenda for structural reforms to higher education, childcare and the economy.

He, of course, vowed support for federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese's prime ministerial bid, accusing the coalition government of focusing on short-term fixes and "intergenerational envy".

"I want to go beyond the here and now," Mr Malinauskas said.

"I am not here to have a whinge about the GST, I'm not here to have a whinge about water. I'm not here to have a cultural war about renewables.

"Just as I spent the South Australian campaign talking about the next generation, I want to spend every day in government on the same project."

State governments are "desperate for a federal partner" on future challenges, Mr Malinauskas said. He criticised the coalition for fixating on short-term cash handouts in the recent federal budget to address cost-of-living pressures, instead of long-term reforms.

The government had allowed the national economy to become reliant on exporting commodities such as coal rather than developing "brain jobs" for the future, he added.

"Look at (Australia's reliance on) coal, it is like having your life savings in a hat manufacturer in 1945 - we have 15 years to make the most of it," he said.

"The world will eventually stop buying this in a big way and if we want a living for our own retirements, much less for our kids, we need to make the transition really soon."

Mr Malinauskas said he needed a better federal partner for his proposed reforms, such as reducing the number of SA universities from three to two larger, more influential academic institutions.

"There is no serious policy effort in the current federal government on higher education, there is just an inexplicable, irresponsible habit of intergenerational envy and Canberra politics," he said.

Mr Malinauskas highlighted his promise for a royal commission into early childhood education, and unfavourably compared the coalition government's efforts in this area to Mr Albanese's promise for a "massive investment".

In response to commentary that he would make a better leader than his federal counterpart Mr Albanese, Mr Malinauskis ruled out any future bid to enter federal politics.

"Mr Albanese ... will bring an extraordinary degree of experience to the prime ministership which I hope he is able to succeed at achieving, potentially in a few weeks time," he said.

Mr Malinauskas also said it will take a federal Labor government to implement an Indigenous voice to parliament, and highlighted his own promise to deliver a state-based treaty and voice for Aboriginal people.

He additionally vowed to advocate for an increase of Australia's humanitarian intake cap of 13,750 refugee places.

"If we can't at least double that, I think that would reflect a lack of national pride and contextual understanding of exactly who we are as a country and what our values are," he said.

Mr Malinauskas assumed power when his party secured eight additional seats to form majority government, ousting Liberal predecessor Steven Marshall after one term.

© AAP 2022

Photo: South Australia’s Premier Peter Malinauskas at the National Press Club in Canberra, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

The Victorian government has swatted away calls to wind back COVID-19 isolation rules for close contacts without the backing of health experts.

Innovation, Medical Research and Digital Economy Minister Jaala Pulford on Monday dismissed a renewed push for the state to dump mandatory seven-day quarantine for close contacts of positive cases.

Richmond AFL coach Damien Hardwick made a direct plea to Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday after livewire Sydney Stack was withdrawn from the Tigers' VFL side because of the edict.

"If we could just get rid of the close contact rule, Dan, that would be terrific," he said after his AFL team suffered a 33-point loss to St Kilda.

"(It would) make everyone's life a hell of a lot easier."

Hardwick's stance is at odds with the AFL, which reiterated it would be led by state governments on COVID-19 protocols.

While conceding Mr Hardwick was entitled to his view, Ms Pulford said the government would continue to rely on the advice of health experts.

"There's a lot of (COVID-19) about in the community at the moment," she told reporters on Monday.

"To prematurely make these changes isn't without risks to the health system. It's not without risks to the health of the people in our community."

Speaking from Clayton in Melbourne's southeast, Prime Minister Scott Morrison reiterated his belief week-long isolation is now "redundant" for close contacts.

"Ultimately that is a decision for the premier. It is premiers who decide to shut cities down or open them up, not the Commonwealth government," he said.

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee last week flagged quarantine for close contacts could be replaced with other measures following the peak of the current sub-variant Omicron wave.

It warned "removing quarantine at this time may lead to higher caseloads and a reduced capacity for the health system to provide some acute and elective services".

Prior to the recommendation, Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy also criticised close contact isolation rules after he was forced into seven-day quarantine following a positive test for his nine-year-old son.

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said he is yet to test positive and set return to parliament on Tuesday.

She said the Andrews government should listen to health experts but not "outsource" its decision-making to them.

"That's how we've got to being the longest locked down city in the world. That's why we've got a shadow lockdown going on at the moment," she said.

"This is an issue that Daniel Andrews and others need to look at. It's having massive impacts on our community, families, business and Victoria's ability to rebuild."

After testing positive a week ago, Mr Andrews was freed from isolation on Monday but opted to work from home.

Victoria recorded 10,011 new COVID-19 cases and one death on Monday, with 305 patients in hospital including 17 in intensive care.

© AAP 2022