GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood) (15:39): In the dying hours of this particularly short parliamentary year, it is useful to reflect on where we are as a parliament and who's who in the zoo. Let me tell you, Madam Deputy Speaker, that it is very difficult to tell what is going on at the moment. On 891 radio this morning Matthew Abraham said that, yesterday's debacle, was the tipping point. The war has actually started. He quoted senior members of the Labor Party who had already leaked to him that they had never seen anything quite like it in this parliament. It was a debacle, it was humiliating, it was embarrassing.

The Premier must be sitting there saying to himself, 'What is actually going on? What is actually going wrong?' It was only a short time ago that he won that historic third term election for them but, suddenly, it is starting to crumble. The people who have been such strong supporters of the Premier in the past—the party faithful—have turned on him. Everyone has turned on him, including his own state parliamentary team. He knows that the end is near.

The Premier is the Bruce McAvaney of the state parliament because he loves statistics and he can see a milestone approaching. He wants to be the longest serving Labor premier we have had in this state. He is so arrogant and delusional that he thinks he should be here longer than John Bannon and longer than the hero of the Labor Party, Don Dunstan. But, guess what? He is not going to make it. The party has turned on him. He is toxic, his government is toxic, his policies are toxic, and they are going to hear about it at the state ALP convention on Saturday.

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson: Have you finished?

Mr MARSHALL: No, I haven't finished. Not only does the Premier know it, but his colleagues also know it. They can smell it. They are walking around the corridors here at Parliament House smelling that something is rotten here, so there is going to be a coup. And who are we going to be faced with moving forward?

Well, the Treasurer, of course, wants a go—the self-proclaimed 'not the sharpest tool in the shed'—thinks he is ready for the job. He has already told us he is 'not the sharpest tool', but he still wants the job. He quotes the fact that he still has a AAA rating. He says, 'I have got us the AAA rating despite the global financial crisis.'

He wants to tell us all about how he has manoeuvred us through the global financial crisis, but he does not tell us about the rivers of gold of GST money that have come into this state. He does not tell us that we are the highest taxed state in the entire country. He does not acknowledge any of those things. He does not acknowledge, of course, the huge amount of money that has come into this state by ripping the people of South Australia off through property taxes. No—he just wants to tell us that he has manoeuvred his way to a AAA credit rating.

But let me tell members that that is a man who is completely drunk on spending. He has taken the spending of this government to Olympic proportions. He has outspent in each and every single one of his eight years as Treasurer, and the spending spree goes on. And yet he still he thinks he is the man for the job—but would the public wear it?

In the other corner, of course, we have the member for Cheltenham. He certainly wants the job. In fact, straight after the historic third term election of his party, he got up and said, 'I don't like the leadership of this party and I'm putting my hand up to take over the job.' Well, guess what: he did not get that job. However, ever since that time he has been quietly but determinedly undermining this government and, of course, we were reminded of that today. Announce and defend—it was a deliberate attack on the leadership of the Labor Party. He is sick of it, we are sick of it, the people of South Australia are sick are it and, hopefully, on Saturday, they get their just desserts.

As we have heard from our leader on many occasions, unfortunately for the member for Cheltenham, they have not got the numbers. As our leader has pointed out, the talent is on the left but, unfortunately, the numbers are on the right. We could talk and talk about the talent on the left, but let me tell members that it is bad news for the member for Colton, it is bad news, of course, for the member for Cheltenham, and it is bad news for the member for Hartley. They just do not have the numbers. That is, of course, why the member for Elder fled to the left. That is also why the member for Light got out—because he knew that his faction was going to take him absolutely nowhere.

On the right, of course, we have the member for Playford and we also have the member for West Torrens, who is here today. He is in a rush to get somewhere. He is in a devil of a rush to get somewhere. And, of course, we have got the Attorney-General—all very carefully watched by the former Attorney-General, who is up to something, I know he is. He is up to something. The right is fractured, and this will provide the left, hopefully, with the opportunity to make that coup that they need. Yesterday on the—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I would like to move an extension of time.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: You move an extension of time? Well, to tell you the honest truth, I do not think there is such a thing for a grievance. I am very sorry, but you know what we could do—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! You know what we could do? We could always, in the Christmas cheer spirit, give the member for Norwood another minute. Shall we give him another minute?

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes.

Mr MARSHALL: Thank you, member for West Torrens. I will wrap up my remarks.

An honourable member interjecting:

Mr MARSHALL: I will try to promote you. Yesterday, of course, we heard on the floor of the house about the fracture which exists. Yesterday, the minister said that it was 'bloody nonsense'; today it was a communication glitch. No doubt Jill Bottrall was working overtime on that one. What a mess. Whether the Premier goes now or whether he goes in 12 months, the Labor Party will be paralysed both from a legislative point of view and an executive point view, and we are the ones who miss out.

The government will be consumed by this leadership posturing, back stabbing, and all you members climbing that greasy Labor ladder over there trying to make your way to the top. Saturday is the ALP convention. Yesterday the member for Davenport wished you all a very merry Christmas. Well, I wish you a very, very happy ALP State Convention.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you. The member for Torrens.

Mrs GERAGHTY: I have a question of you, Madam Deputy Speaker.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, please.

Mrs GERAGHTY: My question is: given that you have been so exceptionally generous to give each of the members opposite an additional minute, could you please give the same to those members on this side?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think I can, because, apparently, the timing of grieves is at my discretion.

Mrs GERAGHTY: Perhaps I may suggest that you might like to take them down—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Torrens has a small voice.

Mrs GERAGHTY: I do, indeed. Yes, I am very sorry. I do have a question then. Perhaps, if it is at your discretion, if they are rowdy during the contribution of members on this side, you may like to reduce their following contribution to two minutes.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think that they are allowed to have a minimum of five minutes. I think that everybody is allowed a minimum of five minutes, so we are not going to do that. The member for Mitchell, you have six minutes. Don't leave. Why are you all leaving?