Grievance Debate

TRADING HOURS

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (15:11): Trust, trust, trust! Whatever happened to trust, Madam Speaker? What we have here—what we have had this week—is an exposure of what the Premier is really about; that is what we have had. When he first became Premier, the Premier came in and told everyone in the parliament that there was going to be a new standard—there was going to be a new standard. We were all going to be civil, and we were going to be polite; it was going to be motherhood and apple pie, Madam Speaker. Motherhood and apple pie: that is what the Premier basically told the parliament—his leadership was going to lift the standards.

So, what we have, Madam Speaker, is the Premier out there misleading the public, and just because you mislead the public civilly, it does not get you away from the fact that you are misleading the public. It is a very, very simple issue, Madam Speaker—

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: Point of order, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Order! Is that a point of order?

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: Yes, the point of order is the member for Davenport has accused a member of the house repeatedly of misleading the house, and it may only be made by substantive motion.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! My hearing was that the statement was 'misleading the public', not the house.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Thank you, Madam Speaker; I am sure there are going to be lots of points of order to protect the Premier, but it is very, very simple. The Premier accuses the opposition of using 'weasel words'; all we have done is ask the Premier about his very own words. He said quite clearly in the parliament yesterday that Woolworths and Coles were members of the Motor Trade Association, and he indicated that was why the Motor Trade Association was taking the position that they were regarding shop trading hours.

The reality is, Mr Acting Speaker, that the Motor Trade Association (which represents 1,100 small businesses in the state) has come out today and said the Premier's statement is simply untrue, it is simply false, and it is simply misleading the public. If we are going to set a new standard in the parliament, why is it the Premier could not do the right thing and apologise to the association that represents those 1,100 family and small businesses in South Australia?

He did not have the courtesy or the civility to apologised when asked. All he does is throw back across the chamber that the opposition is using 'weasel words'. We are using the Premier's words. The reality is that the Premier had advanced notice of this issue. Two weeks ago, the Premier went out in the media and made comments about Coles' and Woolworths' involvement in the shop trading hours debate that is currently public.

Coles put out a statement saying the Premier was misleading and Woolworths said they were not involved. The Premier's office, if you look at The Australian article of 1 March, actually was consulted about that issue and put out a statement. The Premier's office—the Premier's spokesman, on behalf of the Premier—put out a statement. So, two weeks ago the Premier knew about this issue. He knew that his assertion regarding Coles' and Woolworths' involvement simply was not true.

Then what happens? He comes in last night—and I understand it was a shock to the government to work past 6pm—and repeats the claim before the house. It is the Premier who said he was going to set a new standard; it was the Premier who said we were going to be civil; and it was the Premier who said serious questions deserve serious answers. On his first test, he fails.

Maybe the answer to this is in his attitude about family businesses, because last night he threw across the chamber this quote: 'Some of you have just inherited something from mummy and daddy.' That was an insult to every family business in the state. The fact that he says they inherited from their hardworking grandparents or parents is an insult to every farmer out there and every family business that has more than one generation and, frankly, Mr Acting Speaker, the Premier is a disgrace and should apologise today.

Time expired.