Members, Accommodation Allowances

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (15:14): My question is to the Premier. Given all the media attention about where Terry Stephens lives, why didn't the Premier ask him where he lives?

The SPEAKER: The Premier is not responsible to the house for media reports. However, given today's theme, I will allow the question. Premier.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (15:15): It seems to me they have completely run out of questions again. It happens on such a regular basis. You would think, because we are in the midst of a global pandemic and we are trying to stand up our economy, there would be some useful questions from Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, but not one—not one.

I would like to commend the member for Finniss for his answer to a very hopeless question, trying to assert that he is doing the wrong thing. Far from doing the wrong thing of course, he has had to incur extraordinary expenses, as many members who come from the country have to, to accommodate themselves. He and his family have had to move to Victor Harbor. That's not a claimable expense. Of course, many nights of the year, like many of our country members, they need to be living away from home.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: They make a very, very significant sacrifice to serve in this parliament. They do so happily. We know that we are a better parliament—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —because we have many members from our regions and more remote parts of our state as well. I will always commend those people who come to serve in this parliament from outside the metropolitan area. I thank them for that.

It is quite clear that the Hon. Terry Stephens resides in Victor Harbor. He also, like many members have, has accommodation here in metropolitan Adelaide. That has occurred not just during the life of this parliament but over an extended period of time. It's exactly the same arrangement that was in place for 16 years of the former Labor administration and the government before that and the government before that and—guess what?—the government before that.

This is a longstanding arrangement and the line of questioning that we have seen today just goes to show that this opposition is not interested in some of the more important issues that are facing our state at the moment. Their line of questioning, especially to the member for Finniss, is absolutely deplorable.

The SPEAKER: Before I come to the member for West Torrens, I just want to caution members and remind them that when we start asking whether statements in the press of private individuals or unofficial bodies are accurate we can go a little bit off topic. This is page 361 of Erskine May, 24^th edition, 356 to 365, where it talks to the issue of matters in the press or private individuals.