Ministerial Staff

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:35): My question is to the Minister for Environment and Water. If the minister and his office undertook a competitive merit-based process in the assignment of public sector employees to his office, why did his office direct the department to compile a list of public sector employees who had been assigned to the former minister's office?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my right! Would the minister like to have a go at that question?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (15:36): You can't have both—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The minister has the call.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: When a minister initially takes office—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —there is a need to second people from the department to create that skeleton workforce to support the minister in the execution of their duties in the short term until a merit-based process is undertaken. That is the way it works. The member for Port Adelaide—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left! I am trying to hear this answer.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: The member for Port Adelaide would be very familiar with this. She is one of those people who moved from revolving door to revolving door between ministerial office and Public Service with huge questions hanging over the merit-based selection process as to how she ended up as an executive director. She had—

Dr CLOSE: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Minister, please be seated. I take it that the member has taken offence to the comments made about merit-based selection.

Dr CLOSE: Absolutely.

The SPEAKER: I have it and I respectfully—

Dr CLOSE: I have had a competitive approach for every single job I have undertaken.

The SPEAKER: I have it and I respectfully ask—

Dr CLOSE: How dare you!

The SPEAKER: I have the point of order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I respectfully—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left and right will be quiet. I respectfully ask the minister to withdraw those most recent remarks about that issue and please—

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I will withdraw it, but I—

The SPEAKER: Thank you.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I withdraw—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has withdrawn.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —but I ask that the member for Hurtle Vale withdraw her point.

The SPEAKER: One moment, minister. This is the last question of question time until estimates. Please get on with answering the question, the substance of the question. Members on my left will cease interjecting or they will booted out, regardless of whether they have grieves coming up. The minister has the call.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Mr Speaker, I have finished providing my answer, but I do ask that the member for Hurtle Vale withdraw her disgraceful assertion that I have a problem with women, which is the—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: One moment. Please be seated. Will the member for Hurtle Vale please withdraw that comment?

Ms COOK: I withdraw the comment—

The SPEAKER: Thank you.

Ms COOK: —that I said, which was not that. I did not say that he had a problem with women.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: One moment. I will hear it.

Ms COOK: I said that it was because she was a woman. That doesn't mean he's got a problem with women. It's how you interpret that.

The SPEAKER: Is the minister offended by that, or will you get on with answering the question?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Absolutely offended. I do not understand the motivation behind the member for Hurtle Vale's assertion.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Hurtle Vale, I ask you to withdraw.

Ms COOK: I will withdraw that comment.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. Minister, please get on with answering the question.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I've finished answering the question.

The SPEAKER: You've finished.

Mr PICTON: Point of order: you asked him to withdraw and apologise.

The SPEAKER: I asked him to withdraw.

Mr PICTON: He did not apologise.

The SPEAKER: I asked him to withdraw, and he did withdraw.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I heard him say 'I withdraw.' The question before the house is that the house note grievances. I respectfully ask members to please leave quietly so that I can give the Leader of the Opposition the call. It is a miracle he is still here, but he is behaving very well and deserves to be heard in silence. Please leave quietly. The Leader of the Opposition.