Members, Accommodation Allowances

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (14:20): My question is to the Premier. Is the Premier aware of any claim for an accommodation and meal allowance made by eligible members, including leaders of the opposition, travelling in regional South Australia that is not proactively disclosed, and would the Premier support a system of proactive disclosure going forward and a retrospective disclosure for his tenure as leader of the opposition?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: Point of order: ministers are responsible to this house for their conduct as ministers for the duration of their time as minister. The question is asking about and pertaining to matters that are before this government's tenure in office. They also relate to matters pertaining to private members, so whilst the question may be asked of the Premier, it relates to matters for which the Premier is not the Premier but a private member in this house.

The SPEAKER: I am going to allow the Premier an opportunity to respond, but I take the member's point on board. I again refer members back to standing order 96, that questions must relate to public affairs. Because it was quite broad, it could be caught within it. We are treading a fine line here. Premier.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:22): Thank you very much, sir. I support what the Manager of Government Business said to the house and that is that these matters do relate to a prior period when, in fact, we didn't have the travel allowance arrangements—in fact, we did have travel allowance arrangements where members would put in a per diem for intrastate, interstate and overseas travel. That was what had been in place for an extended period of time—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —but sometime after the 2014 election there were changes with regard to this. That is my understanding of what occurred. As the Manager of Government Business—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for West Torrens!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —has made abundantly clear, I was not the Premier during that time and I was not in government at that time. Any of those details would have to be asked of somebody who was a member of the government at the time—maybe the person who was the treasurer at the time. Ask yourself about what arrangements—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hammond!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —were in place during that period of time.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister for Police, be quiet. Member for West Torrens.