Adjournment Debate

Valedictories

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (17:42): On indulgence, I rise to make some concluding remarks for the year 2019. This has been a very important year for our government. It is the second year that we have been in government. It is the second year in a very long period of time. It has been a productive year.

Earlier today, I outlined to the house that 39 separate bills have passed this chamber during this year. Although the Manager of Government Business points out to me that this is not an unusually large number, I do point out that many of the bills that we dealt with this year were issues of very significant reform, and reform that was long overdue. I must say that, as the Leader of the Government, I feel very proud that we tackled some of the hardest, most complex, but necessary, pieces of legislation through this house. I thank all members for the contributions they have made.

In particular, this afternoon I would like to pay my very special thanks to the Deputy Premier, the Attorney-General in this place, the member for Bragg, who has supported me now as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party for much of the last seven years. I think we are already the longest serving leadership duo in the Liberal Party since Tom Playford was the Premier of South Australia, so it is quite a long period of time, and long may it continue. I am particularly grateful to the Deputy Premier for the way she has applied herself, particularly in this chamber and in the cabinet supporting the government's agenda.

I would also like to draw attention to the work of the Manager of Government Business, the member for Morialta, who carries a huge workload during sitting weeks. He makes an enormous contribution in cabinet, and for that I am very grateful. I am grateful also to our whip and deputy whip, who have to keep everybody in line. They do that most of the time, but they always do it with a great degree of humility and humour.

We have spoken in the past about the work of our government compared with previous governments and other governments around Australia, and we do have a great working relationship in our cabinet. Cabinet has met twice per week since we came to government, once as Executive Council on Thursday mornings with His Excellency the Governor of South Australia, the Hon. Hieu Van Le. It is an honour, a privilege and a pleasure to work with him and the team at Government House.

We have an excellent Governor in South Australia. I was so delighted earlier this year when Her Majesty The Queen extended his service to the people of South Australia for another two years. That will take his total service as the Governor of South Australia to seven years. Of course, before that he had seven years as the Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia, so this will be an enormous 14 years of contribution in a vice-regal role in South Australia. I do not think we have ever had somebody who has made such an enormous contribution and we certainly thank him for the important work he does.

I acknowledge the work of the Treasurer and our leader in the other place, the Hon. Rob Lucas, and thank him for his leadership in that place. Can I acknowledge all the members on my side of the house. We have 11 new members this term out of 25 on this side of the house. It is an enormous changing of the guard for the Liberal Party. It is really important to have that renewal within a political party. Sometimes it is a difficult period, when many people with experience leave and many new people come in, but I just want to commend everybody in the joint party room for the way that they have welcomed the new members in.

I particularly want to commend the new members for the incredible contribution that they have made. It is like they have been here for decades with the contribution that they make. I think that the efforts they are making in their individual seats are outstanding and I always enjoy visiting their electorates. Long may that continue.

I would also especially like to thank my assistant minister, the Hon. Jing Lee. Jing has many passions and one of those, of course, is multicultural affairs in South Australia. This is a task she has dedicated herself to over a very long period of time. That is a real point of differentiation for our state: we have very harmonious multicultural relations in South Australia. We should be grateful for that and must never take it for granted. I am very pleased that all sides of politics and every one of the 69 members of the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council dedicate themselves to making sure that we can maintain these harmonious multicultural relations we have here in South Australia. Long may that continue.

To the Leader of the Opposition and his team, we thank them for their contribution this year in this house and in this parliament and the contribution they make more broadly in South Australia. I extend that grateful thanks to all members of parliament, including the Greens, SA-Best and, of course, the Hon. Mr Darley.

In my own office, 2019 has pretty much been a changing of the guard. My longstanding chief of staff, James Stevens, left and went to the federal parliament. He is now the member for Sturt, and we wish him all the very best for that. My deputy chief of staff, Alex May, the longest serving member of my team, also left this year to pursue a career in the private sector. I would certainly like to acknowledge the contribution they made to my coming into this role. There is no doubt in my mind that I would not be the Premier of South Australia without the excellent service of James Stevens and Alex May.

I also congratulate Courtney Morcombe and Paul Armanas on filling those positions vacated by James and Alex. Both Courtney and Paul have worked in my team for a long period of time. I think it is great to be able to promote from within. I think that we have a very tight and very hardworking team in my office, and for that I am very grateful.

I am also very grateful to Ashton Hurn, who stepped into the role of the leader of our media team. She will tell me off in a minute for not knowing her title. She really runs a very capable media team. In fact, she is the Director of Media and Communications and the Senior Press Secretary to the Premier. There you go—she wrote it down for me. I would like to acknowledge the great work of the media team in South Australia: Greg Charter, Belinda Heggen, Kathryn McFarlane, Eleisa Hancock, Todd Clappis, Katrina Stokes, Simon Halliwell, Ken McGregor, Ryan Smith, Gemma Coombe, Dave Franchitto and Mackenzie Mansell.

It is really important that we communicate what we are doing as a government to the people of South Australia. These are difficult roles, and I am very grateful for the work they do, as I am also very grateful to my advisory team, which is very ably led by Richard Yeeles, who has played such an important role in the policy development of this government. So, to Richard Yeeles and to all his team, I say a very grateful thanks.

I would also like to thank Penny Gordon, who looks after my electorate office. It is a very busy electorate office. I love spending time in my electorate. Sometimes people who come into this place and take on leadership roles have very safe seats. I think that at the last election my margin was 0.9 of a per cent. It has crept up ever so slightly to about 5 per cent. It is an electorate I love and I will never take for granted. I am certainly very grateful to Penny and the team there for the incredible work they do on a daily basis when I am often elsewhere.

Can I thank the team who work here in Parliament House. I think that we should all feel very grateful to work in such an historic and important building. It is a privilege to come into this building every day. I feel very humbled to be in this chamber where we have created every law in South Australia since 1889, and I think it is a very great and special pleasure to be in the old chamber where important pieces of legislation, including granting women the right to vote and to run for parliament, passed through that chamber, just adjacent to this chamber, 125 years ago.

It is a great pleasure to come here and work on a daily basis, but it does not come without a lot of dedicated service from the men and women who work here, many of whom have been here for a long period of time. Can I particularly thank the Clerk of our house, Rick Crump—thank you, sir—and to David. Thank you very much for the great work that you do and that all the House of Assembly staff do. We are very grateful for the professional way in which you go about all your work in this place. I also acknowledge the work of the Clerk in the Legislative Council and Black Rod, Chris Schwarz and Guy Dickson.

I would particularly like to draw attention to the work that David Woolman does in looking after the fabric of this incredible building. As I said, it is a great privilege and a pleasure, and I think that at every turn there are opportunities to improve this, and in every term of government we should be looking at ways in which we can enhance the fabric of this building. David is doing it a little bit tough at the moment because his father is very ill and we wish him all the very best for a full recovery.

Can I thank the staff in the South Australian Parliament Research Library, led by Dr John Weste, who have made very significant enhancements to the fabric of the library in recent times, and of course the quality of the research that is done there is always of the very highest order.

Can I thank the members of the catering team, led by Creon Grantham, who always make us feel very special when we have important guests who come into the dining room. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the people who really run this building, Nicky and Karen in the Blue Room. They always bring a massive smile to my face when I head down to the Blue Room. They are often sending me text messages during my contributions in this house. There might be one coming through right about now. Sometimes they are yawning quite significantly, and I think that they should be more respectful in future, but it is always fantastic to have the Blue Room team, recently augmented by Belinda.

Thank you very much to all the people who work in Hansard. Thank you very much. I cannot believe you do the work that you do. My goodness, you should get paid danger money for some of the rubbish that you have to sit through in this place. Thank you very much. There are so few people with the incredible skills you have, and to have such a large number of people with those skills here in this building is an honour for us, so please pass on our grateful thanks.

To the procedures office, the cleaning staff, the switchboard team, the maintenance team and our dedicated security team, I say a massive thank you. To the team who look after the finances and also the team at PNSG team, led by Lorraine Tonglee, I also say thank you very much. We are getting toward the end of the year and this is a time when people will get an opportunity to spend some time resting, some time with their family and with their friends. On behalf of my team on this side of the house, I wish everybody a very merry Christmas and I wish them all the very best for a happy and successful 2020.

Sitting extended beyond 18:00 on motion of Hon. J.A.W. Gardner.

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (17:55): I, too, rise on indulgence to reflect on the year we have had. I would like to start by acknowledging members across the other side of the aisle. It is often reflected upon just how brutal and tough politics is, and I think that is self-evident to anyone who ever sits in this chamber and manages to sustain a question time. It is a challenging environment for anyone to work it, and it is particularly unique.

I do not think there are too many other workplaces or environments whose very existence is established to be so combative in nature. This has its benefits, in that I think it makes for a robust democracy, but it has its downsides too. It incites conflict where often there may not otherwise be conflict. It is an important part of our process, but I think on occasions like this it is probably worthwhile reflecting that most people—I think almost everyone in this place—is committed to doing good work on behalf of their constituents in accordance with their values and their value systems.

Although, not surprisingly, I have disagreements with the Premier and his ministry, I would like to pay homage to their hard work. Being a member of the front bench in government or in opposition is difficult, but being in government as a minister does bring with it extraordinary responsibility, and that is particularly true if you are the Premier of the state. I want to acknowledge their hard work and their commitment to their respective causes and their portfolios. It is worthy of recognition. I also want to acknowledge the family members of those members of the government.

We go at it hammer and tongs in this place, and that is the nature of the beast, so to speak. But family members have to observe all this unfold and watch their loved ones suffer extraordinary scrutiny, and that is difficult for them. I would like to acknowledge the family members of the members of the government: children, partners, wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends. It is tough and I want to acknowledge those people and wish them a safe and merry Christmas with members of the government and the front bench. I want to particularly mention the Premier in that context. I know that being Premier of the state must be an incredibly difficult job, and I hope the Premier gets the opportunity to have some well-deserved time off over Christmas with his family.

To everybody involved in the operation of the parliament, allow me on behalf of the South Australian Labor Party and the opposition to acknowledge their fine work and their commitment to their roles and generally to the people of South Australia, starting with you Rick and David. To the Clerk and Deputy Clerk, thank you for all your hard work, patience and perseverance. To all the House of Assembly attendants, thank you for your stewardship and the gracious service you provide to all members within this place.

To Hansard, I echo the Premier's remarks. Sometimes, I really wonder what you must think when you go home at the end of the day. Quite interestingly, Hansard is an incredibly useful tool in opposition. There have been a few occasions when I have been very glad for the fact that you have recorded every last word said in this place. Occasionally, in government, that may not be appreciated as much, but I do thank you for all your hard work. It is a unique skill, as the Premier said, and I hope you, too, get some downtime. It is exhausting at the end of the day sometimes, finishing up here in our roles, but I cannot imagine how much that would be the case for you. The constant need for attention and trying to put into The Queen's English some of the rubbish that comes out of our mouths must be extraordinary, so thank you for your hard work.

Then, of course, everybody else. To the catering staff, Creon and the entirety of his team, thank you for keeping us fed. It is probably a good idea, as people can get grumpy around here at the best of times; I cannot imagine how much worse it would be if they were hungry, so thank you to Creon and his team, particularly in the dining room, the members' bar, the Blue Room and every other facility within this place.

To the team that maintains the building, Keith and everybody else, thank you for all your hard work. There are people in here at very early hours of the morning, including the cleaning staff, and that should be acknowledged as well. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes. To PNSG, who are responsible for the operations of our IT, it is very technical, I find IT frustrating, and I cannot imagine working with it all the time, so thank you for all your hard work.

To my parliamentary colleagues on my side of the chamber, I cannot express enough my eternal thanks for entrusting me with the extraordinary responsibility of being Leader of the Opposition. It is a rare privilege. We have not had too many leaders and deputy leaders on this side of the house. I am very, very grateful for the honour and intend to give it everything I have for as long as I am fortunate enough to hold this position.

I am only able to do it and do it well because of the extraordinary support of the whole team. It would be wrong of me not to acknowledge in particular the Deputy Leader of the Opposition (member for Port Adelaide). She is a good woman who represents her constituents well, but more so she does the Labor Party a great service with her raw intellect and genuine passion towards a number of policy areas. She has been an important support to me.

Not surprisingly, I would to acknowledge the Leader of Opposition Business (member for West Torrens), who is a ferocious parliamentarian but, more importantly, a fine man and a loving husband and father of his children. He has been a longstanding supporter of mine, and I am very grateful for his assistance. We are a better party for his advocacy and a great parliamentary team for his leadership as Leader of Opposition Business, amongst other roles.

To the entirety of my front bench team, we have a great shadow cabinet with an extraordinary amount of talent. I think it is a team that is capable of being a good cabinet into the future. They are very assiduously going about the work of opposition, and I thank them for their support. Having had time in government as a minister and having time in opposition, one had a consciousness in government of how tough opposition would be, with the lack of resources and so forth; now we have to live through that. It is difficult, and they do a fine job under difficult circumstances. I thank them for their support.

In the other place, they are ably led by the Hon. Kyam Maher MLC. I have known Kyam for a number of years. He does a fine job in the Legislative Council, and that is particularly true in his roles as the shadow minister for Aboriginal affairs and the shadow attorney-general, amongst other things.

I would like to acknowledge the crossbench. As I said, opposition is tough, but we are a team. Often on the crossbench you are doing it with a far smaller team, if you are a team at all. I would like to acknowledge the three Independent members we have in this place: the member for Mount Gambier, the member for Florey and the member for Frome. They represent their constituency incredibly well and do a fine job of keeping up to speed with the various events and goings on in this place. This is equally true in the Legislative Council for members of SA-Best, the Greens and the Hon. John Darley MLC.

To my staff, it is a great team that we have upstairs in the dream factory. They are an incredibly hardworking group of people, led by Mr John Bistrovic, but I would like to mention the others as well: Adam, Pam, Rik, Lucy, James, Peter, Nadia, Cheyne, Sandra, Matt, Wendy, David, Minh, Corey and my EO, Gayle. We also lost the services of Chad earlier this year. I should also, of course, mention the Premier's favourite, Mr Kevin Naughton. They work incredibly hard and assist not only me in my functions but also the whole opposition team. I would like to thank them for their dedication not just to the Leader of the Opposition's office but to the broader labour movement.

To other members of my parliamentary team, the caucus, I should acknowledge that we started the year with a couple of by-elections. We had the opportunity to undergo our own renewal, losing two fine members in the former member for Cheltenham and the former member for Enfield, who were replaced by two excellent members in the new members for Enfield and Cheltenham. They no doubt have an incredibly bright career in front of them and I look forward to working with both those members, along with the rest of my team, who in this place on a day-to-day basis are ably assisted by the whip and the whip's office, an often difficult and thankless job. On more than one occasion, I have reflected on how lucky I am to be in this place with the member for Playford, a long-time friend, and also the deputy whip, the member for Taylor.

Finally, and most importantly, I would like to acknowledge the family members of those members on this side of the house. I know that in each and every instance they are an extraordinary support for each and every one of us. We cannot do it without them. I know that there are some amazing and beautiful family stories on this side of the chamber, each unique in their own special way, as is the case in any sort of modern society, but I want to thank the family members of all members on this side of the house, particularly my own.

I want to thank my wife, Annabel; my daughter, Sophie; and my son, Jack. My wife is an amazing woman. She is a bit unwell at the moment, which makes it particularly hard, but she just goes about it, rarely complaining, putting up with the fact that almost every night I am not around to help get the kids into bed and so forth. I am often not around in the morning. She works, too, and is an incredibly bright woman. She somehow manages to bring this all together. I cannot thank her enough. I love her dearly.

To my children, I cannot wait to spend a bit of time with them on Christmas Day and the associated period. In these roles, you have a permanent sense of guilt with young kids and that has not gone away over the last 12 months. But I know that one day, hopefully, they will understand that this is as much about them as it is anyone else and I love them dearly and thank them for their support and patience.

Finally, Christmas is a good time to reflect for all of us, regardless of whether you are a person of faith or not, regardless of what your faith is, if you have one. It is a special time to spend with family in this country and it is a good time to reflect on just how lucky we are. Our political system is robust and often it is ugly, but I am utterly convinced that it is a system that serves this country incredibly well.

I think we all hopefully share a Christian value—that is not exclusively Christian but, nevertheless, it is a Christian value—of trying to look after the less fortunate in society. When I think about how lucky I am on Christmas morning waking up with a loving family in a safe and secure environment, able to provide presents for my children and so forth, it is worthwhile thinking about those people who are not so fortunate.

I think we all have a responsibility in this place to try to aid people in those circumstances and live up to that egalitarian value and mission that I think we all share as a country. At this special time, hopefully during the course of our reflections, we can contemplate how this parliament can aid their cause throughout the course of calendar year 2020. I wish everybody a very safe and merry Christmas and a prosperous and peaceful 2020.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (18:11): Much of what I want to say has been said, but I just want to say a bit as a member who almost lives in this house when we are sitting. I would like to acknowledge all the staff in this chamber: obviously, the Clerk, Rick Crump; David Pegram, the Deputy Clerk; the Serjeant-at-Arms, Lauren Williams, who also works on behalf of the Police Security Services branch; and Senior House Services Officer, Tonia Coulter, who also doubles as my parliamentary bowls secretary—and a fine bowler she is.

I would also like to thank the house services officers, including Glen Anderson, Will Coad, Jesse Fyfe and Antoni Rejman; the parliamentary officers, Anthea Howard, Dr Josh Forkert and Shannon Riggs, who is on leave currently with his first child. I also thank parliamentary assistant, Shane Hilton. If I have missed anyone, text me later.

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner: We will deal with it next Thursday.

Mr PEDERICK: Yes, we will deal with it later. As far as people who help make this house work, I would like to acknowledge everyone, including building services and their manager, David Woolman, and Paul Chadwick and his team from KOJO who are in charge of broadcasting and filming. I am very enlightened by Paul's texts during the day and have some great conversations with him.

I would like to thank the catering division and manager, Creon Grantham. I do not know whether Creon realises how much power he has in this state. He runs a very tight ship. To him and all his staff—Karen, Nicky and the team—I congratulate them on getting us fed and watered and wonder when Bundaberg rum might be on the menu again in the members' bar. I would like to thank Pauline Thomson and her team from Corporate Services, as well as Kent Nelson and his team from finance.

I would also like to thank the ever-hardworking Hansard team and John Clarke, the Acting Leader. You never know how many friends you have in life, but I have found a lot in Hansard, I think, because they are very keen to talk to me at moments like lunchtime to ask how late we are going and this and that. Sometimes I think if I knew those answers I would be in another job rather than in this place. However, I appreciate that they are trying to find out if I can predict destiny. I do my best, Hansard, I do my best. I congratulate Hansard on their resilience because they, like us, have to hang around here until the bitter end and many times we do not know when the bitter end is. They make us sound human and I really appreciate their work and their friendship.

I would like to thank the parliamentary library and Dr John Weste. He is a great man and does some great work in the library with his team getting historical artefacts together and a whole range of material together. It is great when you take people through there. He takes his time if he sees you and shows you a few things that are going on there.

I thank the Parliamentary Network Support Group: Lorraine Tonglee, the manager, and her crew. I thank the cleaning staff. I have known Tammy for a long time. I occasionally see her coming in—I think I saw her today on her way in. Merry Christmas, Tammy, and all the cleaning staff. To all our staff, my staff and our families, you are all the people who keep us here and help make this place function. To everyone, including anyone I might have missed, thank you so much for your service.

I would like to acknowledge the Opposition Whip. He and I usually have a very harmonious arrangement, and I am glad that we can have some pretty up-front conversations and come to an arrangement. That is the whips' role: we are here to make the place work, so I appreciate those conversations. Through all the carnage of the Westminster style and its robust system, we can work it out and get there at the end of the day.

I think we will be back later on next week, but I would like to thank all my colleagues, all the opposition and the crossbenchers. I thank those people in the other place, even though I am still trying to work out the strange workings of the other place. I would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Let's have a successful, robust debate here next year.

Mr BROWN (Playford) (18:15): It is always hard to follow the relaxed contributions of the Government Whip, but I will try. It is an honour and a privilege for anyone to be able to stand to represent a community in this state. I regard it as a particular honour and a particular privilege for me to be able to represent my own community of Playford. This Christmas, I thank the people of Playford for allowing me to stand again in this place.

This is the second of the four Christmases of this parliament, which I think is worth noting. It has been a good year for this side of the chamber. A particular highlight has been the success of the by-elections that were held earlier this year, with an addition of two new members, the member for Cheltenham and the member for Enfield, both of whom have made excellent contributions to the advancement of the lives of working people since coming into this place. I look forward to 2020 being another year of holding the government to account but also of allowing us to deliver for our communities.

I would like to thank my electorate staff and my whip staff. Unfortunately, this year I have had to say goodbye to the exceptional Will Mellor, but I know that my loss is the law's gain as he proceeds with his legal career. Luckily, I was able to entice the redoubtable Caleb Flight from the bright lights of Canberra to come to work with me here in Parliament House and in my electorate office. I know he is doing an excellent job in running the office. I thank him for not only his advice but also his energy in doing the job.

I would like to thank the Clerk, the Deputy Clerk and all the chamber staff for their exceptional work throughout the year. I know that both the Clerk and the Deputy Clerk would occasionally have an excuse for getting sick of me asking questions about standing orders and precedents, but I know that they take it with good humour. They are always very knowledgeable and very helpful, so thank you.

I would like to thank the Hansard staff for being able to figure out what people are saying from time to time. I always try to enunciate very clearly, but I know that some of my colleagues are a little bit harder to understand. Somehow, you manage to figure it all out, so thank you very much. I would like to thank the catering staff, particularly when they are very useful in letting us know when the house is likely to sit late. If you want to find out definitely what is happening, you should always ask the catering staff. That is a bit of a tip that I have learnt over the years.

I would like to thank the committee staff of various committees as well—not only the staff of the ERDC, of which I am a member and which is chaired under the steady and relaxed hand of the Government Whip, but also all the committee staff. I would like to thank the library staff, in particular Dr John Weste, the Parliamentary Librarian.

My own children and other people from my electorate have been very interested in tours of this place. I thank the library for always being the most exciting part that people go to when they are on tours. Dr Weste's enthusiasm for the things that are in the collection that the parliament holds is very infectious. I know that you, Mr Deputy Speaker, are particularly interested in the library, and I thank you for your interest in making sure that things in the library are kept and preserved for future generations.

I would like to thank the support staff throughout the entire building for all the work that they do in not only keeping this place clean but also functional, and for assisting us to do our jobs. They do not often get the recognition that they deserve, and so merry Christmas to them.

I would like to thank the Speaker and also you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the work you have done throughout the year. I know that from time to time I have had reason to think that the Speaker has a hair-trigger when I am asked to leave the chamber, but I think on balance he does a pretty fair job, even if I necessarily would quibble a few times that has happened. I do note that I do not think I have been chucked out of the chamber by you, Mr Deputy Speaker, so thank you so much for that. Thank you for the excellent job that both you and the Chair of the Economic and Finance did during the estimates committees earlier this year.

I would like to thank the Government Whip and the deputy government whip for being people with whom you can deal on a regular basis. I am pleased to say that in all my dealings with the Government Whip I have never had cause to complain about anything he has done. I hope that relationship continues, even if his relaxation can occasionally be infectious.

I would like to thank my colleagues for putting up with me throughout the year. I know that from time to time I have to be the bearer of bad news and also someone who tells them that they are not able to leave when they want to leave the building, but I do my best to incorporate what they want. I thank them for their forbearance and also for their understanding.

I would like to thank the member for Taylor, the deputy opposition whip, for his assistance throughout the year. He certainly makes it a lot easier for me to do my job, and I thank him for all his assistance. I would also like to finally thank my colleagues on the JPSC, who do an excellent job in helping to maintain this place. I know that there is a great atmosphere of JPSC members, who just want to make sure this place runs as well as it can. I think it is an exceptional committee and does an exceptional job. I am pleased and honoured to be a member of it.

To all those and to everyone else in this place, I say happy Christmas, even though I know we are coming back next week now, thanks to our friends upstairs and the great work—or, rather, potentially, lack of work—they do. I allow my comment to stand. Merry Christmas to all. Hopefully, we will not be back for very long next week.

At 18:22 the house adjourned until Thursday 12 December 2019 at 11:00.