House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1) 52 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Question Time Public Sector Employment PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT Mrs REDMOND House of Assembly Heysen Leader of the Opposition PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:24): My question is to the Premier. Why did the Premier sign a letter dated 1 February 2010 guaranteeing no public sector forced redundancies, and will the Premier and his government stand by his written word? The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly Ramsay Premier Minister for Economic Development Minister for Social Inclusion Minister for the Arts Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:25): Well, on the issue of forced redundancies, let us compare the words that are given in election campaigns. In 2002 we announced no privatisation, no forced redundancies— Mr WILLIAMS House of Assembly Mr WILLIAMS: I rise on a point of order, Madam Speaker. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Premier, there is a point of order. Mr WILLIAMS House of Assembly Mr WILLIAMS: Madam Speaker, the question is very specific: why did the Premier sign a letter dated 1 February, and will he stand by his written word? The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: I will listen carefully to the Premier's response, but he has hardly got into it yet. The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly The Hon. M.D. RANN: Yes. We are dealing with letters sent to the Public Service Association in relation to no forced redundancies: 2002, no forced redundancies, no privatisation, and we stuck to it; and 2006, no forced redundancies, no privatisation, no tolls on roads (the Liberals' solution), and we stuck to it, and we want to be able to honour the commitment this time. In fact, as I have said before in the media and elsewhere, I do not believe that we will have to have forced redundancies because we have put forward— Members interjecting: The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly The Hon. M.D. RANN: Love to. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Mawson.