Construction Industry Training Board

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (14:47): My question is to the Minister for Innovation and Skills. Was Mr Kennedy given the opportunity to continue in his role as chair of the board?

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley—Minister for Innovation and Skills) (14:47): Mr Kennedy didn't express a desire to continue in the role. When I first discussed Mr Kennedy coming on to replace Gay Thompson, the former Labor MP who was appointed to the board by the then minister for education—I am not quite sure what experience she had in the construction industry, other than building the union pyramid where you take union fees off members of the workforce to build up your own political careers—

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Point of order, minister.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: —and boy, didn't it work for Gay Thompson. Didn't it work for her!

The SPEAKER: Minister, be seated for one moment. There is an improper motive there and I respectfully ask the minister to withdraw that last part of his statement, please.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: I withdraw it.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. The minister has the call. Would you still like the call?

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: Yes, thank you, sir.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: I have answered the question. I also think that the member does need to read the act and what the requirements are—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan: Yes, construction experience it says.

The SPEAKER: Member for Lee!

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: —for the various positions on the board. When I first spoke to Mr Peter Kennedy in 2018 about taking on that role, it was always as a transitional role because, as you recall, there was a debate in this house about changes to the way the composition of the board was to be made up. Of course, one of the most successful parts of those changes was that we removed a minority union ability to overturn a majority decision of the board—a significant improvement to the way the board was operating.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Point of order, Mr Speaker.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: Certainly, it was not—

The SPEAKER: There is a point of order, minister. Could you be seated for one moment?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: The question was quite specific about an opportunity afforded to Mr Kennedy or not.

The SPEAKER: Yes. I'm listening to the minister's answer. I thank the member for Lee. I will listen carefully. Minister.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: I have answered the question. Perhaps he wasn't listening, so I will refer you to the Hansard and you will be able to pick up the context, but I do think it is important to look at this in a broader context of course. The Construction Industry Training Board was set up for a single purpose, and that was to deliver skills for the building industry. Those who participate in the building industry pay a fee for that, and those people, whether they be the first-home buyers—

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Point of order, Mr Speaker: with respect, the minister is clearly debating and not addressing the substance of the question.

The SPEAKER: I have been listening carefully. I would ask for the interjections to cease. If the minister does deviate from the substance of the question, I will call him out on it. Has the minister completed his answer, or is he still going?

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: There is no debate, sir. This is purely a history lesson, if you like, on the establishment of the CITB and why it's there. Over the years, unfortunately it had drifted and even got to the stage where almost anything that was soft and cuddly that was approached for money by the CITB, they handed it over. If you recall, Gay Thompson, when she was the chair, decided that she was going to spend $50,000 on a 25^th anniversary party for the CITB. She also decided to take the entire board to Brisbane for a meeting—

The SPEAKER: Minister, this is now getting off topic a little bit, so I would ask you to come back to the substance of the question.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: Of course, this is an important question. It is the choice of the board that makes all the difference. Under the old system, there was no choice for putting that board together—no choice at all. That's why we had to make those changes in this chamber—because it simply wasn't working. By the way, who would hire a venue for a party that had no furniture so you got a bill for $20,000 to hire the furniture for the venue?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Mr Speaker, he is now openly defying your ruling.

The SPEAKER: There is a point of order. Please be seated.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: They didn't have a liquor licence. They had to buy that as well from CITB funds.

The SPEAKER: Please be seated. The point of order is for debate. I uphold the point of order. The member for Hurtle Vale has the call.

The Hon. T.J. Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Primary Industries is warned. There was nothing about a spoon in the question.