Question Time

Privatisation

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:02): My question is to the Premier: was the privatisation of ETSA by the Olsen government a good thing for the people of South Australia?

The SPEAKER: I am not really sure if the Premier is responsible for what the Olsen government did; however—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my right! I am going to allow the Premier to answer the question.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier has the call.

Mr Pederick: We had a flood in 1956.

The SPEAKER: Member for Hammond! He has been called to order this morning and he is warned. The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:03): It is quite evident to me that the opposition has run out of questions.

Mr Malinauskas: No, I just asked one.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Well, it wasn't according to the standing orders—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: It's not a responsibility of the current government. I know that you have only come down to this house in recent times. I know that the Leader of the Opposition has only been down in this chamber for a certain period of time, but he doesn’t understand the standing orders. He doesn't understand how questions should be asked. This is not a responsibility of the government. But I am happy, under your instructions, with a wideranging set of—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order: personal reflections, debate and relevance.

The SPEAKER: The Premier will be seated for one moment. I have the point of order. With respect, the question was framed in a way that was perhaps a little bit political. Arguably, the Premier is not responsible to the house for what was done under the Olsen government. The member for West Torrens knows that. I will allow the Premier to answer it and I hope that he sticks to the substance of the question. This is why standing orders are there, member for West Torrens. Premier, would you like to have a go at answering that question?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I would like to know whether the State Bank collapse was something that the Leader of the Opposition would support. We thought that that was a complete and utter debacle. While we are asking questions of historical importance, what a mess that was and what a mess the former Labor government's hopeless energy policy was for the people of South Australia.

The SPEAKER: I think the Premier has finished. The Leader of the Opposition.