House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1) 52 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Public Sector Leave Entitlements PUBLIC SECTOR LEAVE ENTITLEMENTS Mr PISONI House of Assembly Unley PUBLIC SECTOR LEAVE ENTITLEMENTS Mr PISONI (Unley) (14:44): My question is to the Minister for Education. Does the minister agree with the government's policy of cutting long service leave entitlements for public servants in his department? The then treasurer Foley said on 11 November 2010 that minister Weatherill and the then treasurer were: ...team mates on this budget; that everything we did, including issues to do with workplace reform, both Jay and I did together. Jay was quite comfortable in every decision that we took, in fact supported and put forward some of the initiatives that have been controversial since. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Minister for Education. The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly Cheltenham Minister for Education Minister for Early Childhood Development Minister for Science and Information Economy The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Education, Minister for Early Childhood Development, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:45): Thank you, Madam Speaker, and— The Hon. P.F. Conlon House of Assembly The Hon. P.F. Conlon: He has noticed last year's budget. The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: That's right. I thank the honourable member for his question. He has clearly caught up with a budget initiative from last year, apparently in the last few moments. I've got some horrible news for him— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Members interjecting: The Hon. P.F. CONLON House of Assembly The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Point of order: I can't hear this excellent answer because of the member for Unley. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! I agree. Minister. The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I've got some horrible news for him: events have moved on. In fact, this budget set up a process for dealing with the question of the long service leave issues for teachers. We do acknowledge that teachers have some concerns about changes that I think are to come into effect on 1 July, and we have a process set up to talk to them and a number of other union representatives who represent public servants who are affected by those changes. That is the late breaking news for the member for Unley. I am sure that, as the relevant secretary of the union (Corenna Haythorpe) has said publicly, she has committed herself to negotiations. The Treasurer has committed himself to negotiations and I am sure they will reach a settlement. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order!