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South Australia's 47th Premier Peter Malinauskas has been sworn-in after Labor's decisive state election victory.
Mr Malinauskas took the oath of office at Government House on Monday and said he did so with a "genuine sense of humility".
"The gravity and the poignancy of the moment is not lost on me," he said after the ceremony.
"I take this responsibility incredibly seriously. I approach it with a genuine sense of humility.
"But also with a very firm resolve. A resolve to deliver on our policies. A resolve to use the power and authority invested in my government to do good for people."
Susan Close was also sworn in as deputy premier and Stephen Mullighan as treasurer.
Ms Close said she was honoured to be among the first women to hold the role.
"I think it makes a difference to the way, in particular, young women think about their futures and all women think about how politics can be played," she said.
"We've seen a lot of noise, a lot of talk, a lot of debate about the culture of politics in the last few years and it's a very welcome discussion.
"The best response to it is to have greater diversity on the benches and that means in this case to have more and more women."
Mr Malinauskas is yet to reveal other members of his cabinet, though most who served on his frontbench during opposition are expected to retain their roles.
Some changes are possible given the number of new MPs that will swell the caucus ranks, but all are expected to be sworn-in by the end of the week.
With counting continuing Labor looks set to hold at least 26 seats in the 47-seat House of Assembly, and is leading in two others.
One still in doubt is that of outgoing Premier Steven Marshall, who is trailing his Labor opponent Cressida O'Hanlon in Dunstan.
Mr Marshall has indicated he intends to continue to serve as the local member if returned but has stepped down as Liberal leader.
Shortly before Monday's ceremony, he also arrived at Government House to officially tender his resignation.
Mr Marshall said he had spoken with Mr Malinauskas on Sunday to again congratulate him on Labor's victory.
"I hope that we can continue to work together in the best interests of South Australia," he said.
"It's in a very good position at the moment but there's still much work to be done."
The Liberals should retain 14 or 15 seats but are likely to lose a number of ministers from the previous administration, including Deputy Premier Dan van Holst Pellekaan, Transport Minister Corey Wingard, Child Protection Minister Rachel Sanderson and possibly Primary Industries Minister David Basham.
The new parliament is likely to include five independents with Dan Cregan in the Adelaide Hills, Geoff Brock, who shifted to the seat of Stuart in the mid-north, Troy Bell in Mt Gambier and Fraser Ellis in Narungga, which takes in Yorke Peninsula, are all set to be returned.
In Finniss, independent Lou Nicholson leads Mr Basham after the sitting MP was on the wrong end of a 19 per cent swing.
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Photo: New SA Premier Peter Malinauskas with his wife Annabel and three children, Sophie, Jack and Eliza at Government House in Adelaide, Monday, March 21, 2022. (AAP Image/Matt Turner)
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NSW Health is today reporting the deaths of four people with COVID-19, two women and two men.
One person was aged in their 60s, one person was aged in their 70s, one person was aged in their 80s and one person was aged in their 90s.
Of the four people, two people had received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, one person had received two doses and one person was not vaccinated.
Two people were from southern Sydney, one person was from south western Sydney and one person was from the Central Coast.
This brings the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 2,023.
There are currently 1,124 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, including 33 people in intensive care, 15 of whom require ventilation.
There were 16,813 positive test results notified in the 24 hours to 4pm yesterday, including 9,818 positive rapid antigen tests (RATs) and 6,995 positive PCR tests.
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Led by former union boss Peter Malinauskas, Labor appears set to hold 25 and possibly as many as 27 seats in South Australia's 47-seat House of Assembly after its big win in Saturday's election.
Continued counting should bring into sharper focus the size of the swing involved in the victory.
The Liberals are expected to retain at least 15 seats with independents poised to take the remaining five.
The Electoral Commission on Sunday morning had Labor's primary vote up by eight percentage points to 40.5 per cent with the Liberals on 34.6 per cent.
More counting could give a clearer picture in five seats still considered doubtful, including Dunstan, held by outgoing premier Steven Marshall.
In a victory speech to the Labor faithful at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night, Mr Malinauskas thanked the people of South Australia for their support.
"It is not lost on me the significance of the privilege and the size of the responsibility that you have invested in me and my team," he said.
"It means that we've got a big job to do."
Conceding defeat, Mr Marshall said it had been an honour and privilege to serve as premier.
"It's great to live in a country where we have free and open elections," he told supporters.
"Today the people of South Australia have spoken. They've elected a new government."
Mr Marshall gave no indication whether he would stay on as opposition leader should he retain his seat.
Among the independents returned were Speaker Dan Cregan in the Adelaide Hills, Geoff Brock, who shifted to the seat of Stuart in the mid north, and Troy Bell in Mt Gambier.
Fraser Ellis was also voted back in Narungga, which takes in Yorke Peninsula.
Both Mr Cregan and Mr Ellis were elected as Liberals in 2018 but left the party last year to sit on the crossbench.
In other results, Nick Champion successfully switched from the federal parliament to the state house, coasting to a win in the northern Adelaide seat of Taylor.
Labor's victory in SA was the first against an incumbent government at any state or territory election during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Photo: Peter Malinauskas and his wife Annabel SA Labor Leader celebrates victory for Labor during the 2022 State Election at Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Saturday, March 19, 2022. (AAP Image/Matt Turner)
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Support for mental health will be one the key planks of the federal budget in just over a week's time, Health Minister Greg Hunt says.
Mr Hunt says mental health is one of the four pillars of Australia's long-term national health plan.
The other areas are primary care with a strong focus on access to new medicines and better treatments to aid doctors, the support for hospitals and private health insurance, and medical research.
He said there will be focus on youth suicide.
"Despite all the expectations because of what we were able to do in tailored support for mental health we had a reduction in suicide in Australia of five per cent in 2020 - we are still waiting the final figures for 2021," Mr Hunt told Sky News' Sunday Agenda program.
"We want to see it go lower, we want to see it head towards zero."
Details on the mental health support will be released in the March 29 budget.
However, the Morrison government will spend more than $315 million over four years to extend its national ice action strategy in the ongoing fight to reduce the impact of ice, other drugs and alcohol.
This investment comes alongside an additional $27.9 million being committed to support other critical drug and alcohol treatment projects in areas of identified need.
"For too many Australians, illegal drugs are still an insidious scourge on our community, robbing families of their loved ones," Mr Hunt said.
"The Morrison Government is committed to building safe and healthy communities, reducing the impacts and harms of drug and alcohol use for individuals, their families and their communities."
National wastewater drug monitoring shows methamphetamine use has reduced for the second consecutive year.
Even so, Mr Hunt said while this was a good sign, there is still work to be done.
Images Pixabay free images & Greg Hunt Facebook & NSW Police Facebook
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