Grievance Debate

Goh, Dr T.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (15:09): Dr Timothy Goh is a migrant who came to this country to build a better life, much like my father did, much like your father did, sir, much like the grandparents of the Leader of the Opposition did and much like almost everyone in this parliament. He came here looking for a better life. He was educated, went about his business, earnt an income, paid taxes and did well. Dr Goh is no fan of mine. When I was treasurer, this man relentlessly attacked me on Facebook and in the public domain as a good Liberal.

An honourable member: Shame!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, shame, I agree. What really surprised me was what is going on inside the head of the Premier and the Premier's office that class warfare has now seeped into the Liberal Party to such an extent that this man's success is being used as a spear against him. We understand from reading The Australian that Liberal sources have given to the newspaper a photograph of Mr Goh standing alongside a luxury vehicle that he had aspired to own his entire life. This is the Liberal Party.

The Liberal Party think that by denigrating Mr Goh's achievement they somehow strike a blow in their class war on aggregation. You have to ask yourself, Mr Speaker, what is going on in the heart and soul of the Liberal Party. Class warfare does not work, never has, never will. It has no place in Australia's political discourse. Someone in the Premier's office thought it was a good idea to do this. You can understand how hurtful it was to Mr Goh and to his family, given that he is suffering through his father's illness, to be perpetuated onto the pages of our national broadsheet because he dared to criticise the Premier's aggregation policies. He had the temerity, as a Liberal, to stand up and say that Liberal Party policy is wrong.

I thought the whole foundation of the Liberal Party was that you are a series of individuals, with individual rights to speak your mind. Apparently not. I have to say to the members of the backbench who are watching this train wreck in slow motion in front of them: who is next? Who else is going to get attacked for doing well or buying three or four properties?

I can tell you that the number of people who come into my office and apologise to me for voting for the Liberal Party, for daring not to go on holidays, for daring to sacrifice and buy an investment property rather than some other form of investment, whether it is shares or anything else, because they did not understand that as well as they understood property, generally postwar migrants, are now being told that they are rorters, that they are millionaires and that their success is something that deserves to be taxed.

Today, the shadow treasurer asked a very simple question of the Premier: how many people who currently are not aggregated, but who are below the tax-free threshold, will now be aggregated? Scoffs, laughter, claims that we do not understand. These people are facing tax bills of $7,000, $9,000, $12,000 or $20,000 from a party they have supported their entire life. If they dare to oppose it, some genius, some child in the State Administration Centre, decides to trawl through on government time a Facebook site and to then give it to a journalist to have it published as a symbol of whose side the Liberal Party really is on.

Do you really think that Mr Goh, who probably handed out how-to-vote cards for the Liberal Party at the last election, ever in his wildest imagination would have thought that because he dared to speak his mind a Liberal staffer would leak that to a paper? Is it a leak? What are they really saying? They are saying that his success is something to be ashamed of. This is the Liberal Party, not us.

This is the party of aspiration, this is the party that wants to see workers do well, this is the party that wants to see our kids get a decent education so we can get access to capital, so our kids can be CEOs and our kids can invest. We are the party that opened up Australia, we are the party that floated the dollar, we are the party that lowered tariffs and made Australia competitive. Opposite, if you do well, they are the party that will embarrass you. Do not dare to speak against Liberal Party policy or they will put your Maserati, your house or your wealth on the front page of the paper to embarrass you. Tom Playford looks down on you all with shame.