Ministerial Statement

GM HOLDEN

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for Defence Industries, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:05): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: All members are well aware of the need to conduct themselves appropriately in this place and use the privileges afforded us through the conventions and authority of the house. I am sure members are also aware of the need to be clear and truthful in our utterances during proceedings in this place. So it is with disappointment that I rise to tell the house about what I believe to be a divergence from the standards expected of a member of this place, particularly a member in high office.

Yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition strongly asserted in a question to the Premier before us all that the 'Victorian government signed a contract for its contribution' to the General Motors Holden co-investment package. Then, interjecting, with all the confidence of a shady used car salesman about to seal the deal, the leader said—

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: The member for Stuart.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: I am sure, Mr Speaker, that you would consider those to be words to be objected to when used.

Members interjecting:

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: 'Shady used car salesman'.

The SPEAKER: Is the member for Stuart asserting that they are unparliamentary?

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Standing order 125: words to be objected to when used.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: To assist in the proceedings of the house, I am happy to withdraw if the member for Stuart takes offence. The leader said he had checked. So, what do we read from the national media today? Victorian Premier, Denis Napthine, said that his government had yet to pay Holden any of the $10 million. He said—and I am quoting him:

There is no agreement, we haven't paid any money to Holden.

Mr Napthine goes on—and I am quoting him again:

We have an offer for Holden and that offer is contingent on an agreement. We have sent that agreement to Holden and they have yet to respond to that proposal and we won't be giving any money to Holden unless they meet the terms of our agreement.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Point of order from the member for Davenport.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: The Minister for Infrastructure keeps on interjecting on the minister.

The SPEAKER: Yes, I was about to remark on that and, accordingly, I call to order the Minister for Transport. I also call to order the member for Schubert, and I call to order the member for Heysen.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I am quoting Victorian Liberal Premier, Denis Napthine:

We have sent that agreement to Holden and they have yet to respond to that proposal and we won't be giving any money to Holden unless they meet the terms of our agreement. We would be seeking absolute assurances from Holden about employment and investment in this state.

Denis Napthine, Liberal Victorian Premier. So who had the leader checked with? Certainly not the Premier of Victoria. So confident was the Leader of the Opposition of his position yesterday he interjected on the Premier—

Mr PENGILLY: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Point of order, member for Finniss.

Mr PENGILLY: Surely this is debate, not a ministerial statement?

The SPEAKER: Alas, that is not the remedy for ministerial statements to which one objects. The minister.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: So confident was the Leader of the Opposition of his position yesterday he interjected on the Premier and tried to talk him down with the same negative manner he uses to talk down the South Australian economy every day. When the leader discovers that the jig is up and his confidence trick about Victoria was about to be found out, how does the Leader of the Opposition respond?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Point of order from the member for Morialta, and while he is on feet I call to order the member for Kavel and I warn the member for Heysen for the first time. The point of order, please.

Mr GARDNER: The minister is clearly imputing improper motive when he makes a claim like that.

The SPEAKER: Look, it may be unparliamentary for any number of reasons, but imputing improper motive is not the point. The minister.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I won't allow the opposition to gag me on this important matter. The people of South Australia have a right to know about the character of the Leader of the Opposition. This is what he did: while the Premier is holding a press conference outside of this place, the member for Norwood—

The SPEAKER: Point of order from the member for Bragg.

Ms CHAPMAN: The minister well knows that the Leader of the Opposition is currently—

The SPEAKER: This is a frivolous point of order and I call the member for Bragg to order and ask her to be seated, because the presence or absence of members is not relevant. The minister.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: While the Premier is holding a press conference outside of this place, the member for Norwood slinks into this place—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I call the member for Bragg to order.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: The member for Norwood slinks into this place—

The SPEAKER: Point of order from the member for Heysen.

Mrs REDMOND: It is improper motive being imputed. The motive of the Leader of the Opposition is imputed to be to have come in here at a time when everyone else was distracted because the Premier happened to be doing a press conference rather than because he came in here at the first available opportunity to correct the record, and that is imputing improper motive.

The SPEAKER: No. The minister.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: The member for Norwood slinks into the place hoping to be undetected by the gaze of the distracted media and makes a personal explanation confirming on record he made yet again another mistake. He confirmed that, contrary to his confident bluster—

The SPEAKER: Minister, would you be seated. The member for Heysen.

Mrs REDMOND: I seek a point of clarification and your ruling into how that is not imputing an improper motive on the part of the minister asserting that the leader came in here other than for the absolute proper motive of correcting the record as soon as he found out that something was wrong.

The SPEAKER: I think the member for Heysen is being unnecessarily fragile about this and, frankly, if we cannot say these kinds of things about one another in political debate then nothing much would be said in this chamber. The minister.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: The Leader of the Opposition confirmed that, contrary to his confident bluster in the chamber yesterday, his Liberal Party colleagues—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I won't be gagged.

The SPEAKER: Member for Waite, point of order.

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: I draw your attention to standing order 107, which specifically predicates that a minister may make a ministerial statement relating to matters of government policy or public affairs. This seems to be a matter to do with the opposition, not government policy and I ask whether it is in order.

The SPEAKER: I think it is a matter of public affairs. That is not the remedy, member for Waite. The minister.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: He confirmed that, contrary to his confident bluster in the chamber yesterday, his Liberal Party colleague and friend Denis Napthine, the Premier of Victoria, was correct and the member for Norwood, the Leader of the Opposition, was wrong. 'I should not have referred to the Victorian government,' said the leader, hoping to cast the thrust of his withering attack as a mere detail. Alas, this is not the first time the member for Norwood has been caught out selling one line but failing to deliver.

On 18 February the Leader of the Opposition was happily posing online a photo of himself standing at the SAHMRI—part of the state and federal Labor government's Big Build of South Australia. He was proud enough to stand cheerfully at that construction site covered with cranes and full of jobs for South Australians, but what does the leader do five days later? He complains that the unprecedented number of cranes covering our skyline, which bring with them thousands of South Australian jobs—

Ms Sanderson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I warn the member for Adelaide for the first time.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: —are merely a false economy. The Leader of the Opposition should tell the workers who are putting bread on the table for their families each and every day that, because of the important infrastructure investments this government is making, like the Royal Adelaide Hospital or the duplication of the Southern Expressway, this is a false economy.

Let me turn to other promises the Leader of the Opposition has made, such as statements about a public sector policy. On 4 February, the Leader of the Opposition said he would be releasing a policy on the public sector in coming weeks. A day later, it was reported in the Australian Financial Review that they have, and I will quote the leader, 'no specific plans within the Liberal Party to axe public service jobs'. Yet, on morning radio that very day, his position slid to, 'I'm not saying that there's going to be no more public service job cuts.' We are still waiting, 10 weeks later, for any genuine statement from the leader. Also, in February, the leader touted that he would—

Mrs REDMOND: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Minister, the member for Heysen has a point of order.

Mrs REDMOND: Sir, if feigned laughter is an offence in this place, is feigned anger also an offence?

The SPEAKER: I will give that my earnest consideration, but the minister is in order, which the member for Heysen was not during her forced laughter yesterday. Minister.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Anger is an emotion the member for Heysen is very familiar with. Also—

Mrs REDMOND: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: The member for Heysen.

Mrs REDMOND: Point of order, Mr Speaker: the minister should know not to end a sentence with a preposition in the case of you being in the chair, sir.

The SPEAKER: Yes, and accordingly, I call the minister to order. Minister.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Anger is an emotion—

The SPEAKER: Do it three more times and I'll throw you out!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: —with which the member for Heysen is familiar. I apologise, sir. Also, in February, the leader touted that he would be holding an economic growth forum supposedly attended by mum-and-dad small business owners and academic, industry and community leaders. On 3 April, though, all was revealed when the leader's promised grand forum was proven to be nothing more than a Liberal Party fundraiser. Alas, Steven Marshall is turning less and less into a businessmen and more and more into a salesman who will say whatever it takes to whoever will listen.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Minister—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: Fake laughter. It doesn't work here. It doesn't work.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Minister for Transport is warned a first time, and the Minister for Health is warned a first time. I forget what it was for, but he deserved a warning. Is the Minister for Health finished?

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Exactly. What he has done and what he has failed to do, in the words of the confession. The Minister for Finance.