The campaign for the March 17 South Australian state election is in full swing, with both major parties releasing extensive "plans" after drip-feeding the release of several other policies.
Mr Marshall's claim is in the ballpark. His claim refers to five policies, but his spokesman, when approached by Fact Check, pointed to six policies that the Opposition claims Labor has poached. In four of the six cases, the Liberals did announce very similar policies ahead of Labor. The fourth case — a policy on home batteries — was first announced by the Liberals, and while Labor later announced an arguably more generous policy, it was not included in its 2017 "Energy Plan". When it comes to the other two cases, the record is mixed. The Liberals were the first party to promise a wide rollout of phonics testing, but this followed on from a trial in selected schools previously instituted by the Labor Government. It is arguable that the full rollout was an expected follow-on from the trial. The other policy the Liberal spokesman pointed to — a policy on drug rehabilitation orders — differs from Labor's proposal. And Labor says it is still considering the precise form its policy will take. It is also impossible to know whether Labor would have announced the same policies in the absence of earlier Liberal announcements, or exactly when it had finalised a specific policy. What is clear, however, is that the policies that the Liberals and Labor share only constitute a small proportion of all the policies and initiatives being proposed in the campaign.
Fact check: Has SA Labor adopted five of the Liberals' previously announced policies?
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