Grievance Debate

STATE BUDGET

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (15:22): Over the last couple of weeks the Premier and the government have been playing a little game of trying to suggest that somehow all the over-spruiking by this government was done by former premier Rann and former deputy premier Foley, and none of the current administration under Premier Weatherill or then treasurer Snelling was involved in any of this spruiking. The media should not fall for it and the public should not fall for this particular line put out by the Premier.

Just because you speak quietly, Mr Speaker, it does not mean you are not over-spruiking the issue. I just want to remind the house of a few classic examples of over-spruiking by the super spruik himself, the Premier and his sidekick, the then treasurer, Mr Snelling. Going back to last year's budget is probably the classic example. We all remember that classic opening line of the budget speech that:

South Australia will be a very different place in a few years.

The expanded Olympic Dam mine—the largest open pit mine in the world will be operating.

That was not Kevin Foley saying that, that was not Mike Rann saying that: that was the then treasurer, Mr Jack Snelling, saying that, Mr Speaker—

The SPEAKER: The member for Davenport will be seated.

The Hon. I.F. Evans: I called him by his name, 'the then treasurer'.

The SPEAKER: No; you will be seated. You will refer to him as the Treasurer or the member for Playford and nothing else. It is a rule that, surprisingly, applies to everyone and, surprisingly, the member for Davenport also.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will also refer to him as the current health minister. The current health minister, the then treasurer, said that in the budget speech. That budget speech, of course, Mr Speaker, as you well know, goes right through the cabinet process. So it was not just the then treasurer who was making that comment: it was the whole of cabinet. Go a little bit further down that particular budget speech and you get the then treasurer saying, quote:

These savings will ensure that the debt cap I set in December—that government borrowing would never exceed half our annual revenue—is achieved.

Well, Mr Speaker, we can tear up the budget speech, because that particular measure was also over-spruiked. Go back to the very simple issues of the BHP expansion. It was the premier who said, 'I am very, very confident that BHP Billiton's expansion of Olympic Dam will go ahead.' That was the treasurer at the time but the premier also said that the project will transform South Australia by bringing unprecedented wealth and economic opportunity to the state well into the next century. The future leader contested it, the minister for mining (member for West Torrens), 'King Kouts' which is the nickname we all know outside the house. The minister for mining said it was going to be a—

The SPEAKER: The member for Davenport will be seated. Now I call the member for Davenport to order. His use of a diminutive for the Minister for Mineral Resources was deliberate and in contempt of the chair and I will name him if he does it again. The member for Davenport.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Thank you, Mr Speaker. The reality is that this Premier is the only minister who has been in the cabinet since day one from the 2002 election. It is this Premier who has been part of the cabinet that has overspruiked for 11 years. It is this Premier who has adopted the same spruiking style as the previous premier and he is not going to get away with saying, 'That was them and this is me.' Even today in question time with the Sustainable Budget Commission question, he said, 'Well, I didn't have control of that issue. That was someone else.' Rubbish.

This government has been over spruiking its performance for a decade, and this Premier is simply Kevin Foley without the disco. He has the same spruiking style. There is absolutely no doubt about that. This Premier is the super spruiker of the government. He has been there every single day of the cabinet and the public are not going to wear this Premier saying, 'Even though I have been there 11 years, it wasn't me, it was someone else.' Rubbish!