House of Assembly Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2) 54 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Construction Industry Training Board Construction Industry Training Board The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly Lee 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 House of Assembly Unley Minister for Innovation and Skills Construction Industry Training 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 House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Point of order. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Point of order, minister. The Hon. D.G. PISONI House of Assembly The Hon. D.G. PISONI: —and boy, didn't it work for Gay Thompson. Didn't it work for her! The Speaker House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly The Hon. D.G. PISONI: I withdraw it. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Thank you. The minister has the call. Would you still like the call? The Hon. D.G. PISONI House of Assembly The Hon. D.G. PISONI: Yes, thank you, sir. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. D.G. PISONI House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. Mullighan: Yes, construction experience it says. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Member for Lee! The Hon. D.G. PISONI House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Point of order, Mr Speaker. The Hon. D.G. PISONI House of Assembly The Hon. D.G. PISONI: Certainly, it was not— The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: There is a point of order, minister. Could you be seated for one moment? The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: The question was quite specific about an opportunity afforded to Mr Kennedy or not. The Speaker House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Mr Speaker, he is now openly defying your ruling. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: There is a point of order. Please be seated. The Hon. D.G. PISONI House of Assembly The Hon. D.G. PISONI: They didn't have a liquor licence. They had to buy that as well from CITB funds. The Speaker House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The Minister for Primary Industries is warned. There was nothing about a spoon in the question.