House of Assembly Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Telstra Job Losses Telstra Job Losses Mr MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Leader of the Opposition Telstra Job Losses Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier follow the lead of the Victorian government and commit to providing support to the affected workers here in South Australia? The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly Dunstan Premier Telstra Job Losses The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:19): This is pretty much exactly the same question that I have been given several times— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —and, as I have mentioned to the Leader of the Opposition, I think it's prudent, when you are committing any taxpayer dollars, to understand what you are actually committing to. This may be lost on those opposite— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —and having a pretty close look at the books when I arrived in the Premier's office— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The leader is called to order. The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —let me tell you, there wasn't too much prudent decision-making over the last 16 years in South Australia. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: But there is a new government in town— Mr Malinauskas interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Leader! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —and we will be making sure that if we spend any taxpayer dollars that we are doing it very carefully and prudently. I think the prudent thing to do in this instance is to first of all understand what the job losses in South Australia are going to be, where they are going to occur and what support are they going to receive, in the first instance from their employer, Telstra, and then, if there is a requirement, from South Australia. That information is not available at this point in time.