Grandparents for Grandchildren SA

Ms STINSON (Badcoe) (14:16): My question is to the Minister for Child Protection. Did the minister tell Grandparents for Grandchildren in a meeting words to the effect, 'You got me into this trouble'?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER Order! Minister, would you like to answer the question? Premier.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER Order! Members on my left, order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER Order! The Premier will be seated. I have given the opposition enormous latitude for the first 10 minutes of question time. The Premier will be heard in silence.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:16): Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. As you would be aware—unlike those opposite—it's up to the government of the day to determine who actually answers the question. Quite frankly, the opposition has had seven questions in a row on the same topic. They have actually got no issue to raise here whatsoever because the new government has actually fixed—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —the problem left by the former government. I want to commend the Minister for Child Protection, who acted swiftly to address a problem that had been left by the previous government. We all appreciate, and we will go through it very carefully here, that a specific recommendation of the Nyland royal commission report was regarding the consolidation of the advocacy services for these people. The government that was in previous to the election was aware of that.

Mr KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: Point of order; this better not be another bogus point of order.

Mr KOUTSANTONIS: No, sir, it's relevance. The question was about remarks made by the minister at a meeting with grandparents for grandkids.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I do believe the Premier will return to the substance of the question shortly

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: It's so sad, sir, that those opposite are so upset by the fact that the new government is fixing their problems and all they want to do is to come in here, ask the same question over and over again. You would think, given the time between 17 March and the time we came back, and the week that we have just had off between the parliament last sitting, that they would have some questions to ask about the key issues for the people of South Australia.

Mr KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir: the Premier is now debating the issue, sir. I ask you to bring him back to the substance of the question.

The SPEAKER: Will the Premier come back to the substance of the question please.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: It's all about money going to Grandparents for Grandchildren, and that is precisely what we have fixed up.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: And to quote the immortal Christopher Pyne, 'We're fixers.' We have seen the problem and we have fixed it—a problem that had been left by the previous government.