Public Service

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (15:39): One of the greatest assets that this state is blessed to have is our Public Service: tens of thousands of employees who contribute day in, day out, to our state. They are not just the arms and legs of the government of the day but the eyes, the ears and the bright minds as well.

They are connecting with South Australians at every level, whether it be from the youngest in our kindergartens through to our oldest in hospitals and aged-care facilities, our paramedics and ambulances or our first responders in the emergency services. Our public servants do a tremendous job delivering for the government of the day. As many people in and out of this place know, my entire career prior to entering parliament was spent within the Public Service. I was particularly passionate about Public Service reform. I spoke about it regularly in this place.

I assisted the government to develop our public sector policy in the lead-up to the 2018 state election, in which we talked about valuing and respecting public servants and giving them the space to innovate, drive change and serve their clients, the people of South Australia. I strongly believe that the approach we took to government and have maintained since forming government is in stark contrast with the way the Labor Party dealt with the Public Service when they occupied this side of the house.

Time and time again, I was disappointed by the way public servants were treated by the previous government, particularly senior public servants. People were marched out of buildings without being given appropriate notice. Jobs were provided without appropriate merit selection. On a number of occasions, it was said to me by senior public servants that the only way to advance your career was to have a Labor Party membership form in one hand when you went into the interview. That might have been metaphorical in many senses, but it was played out time and time again.

I do not believe that that attitude, that disrespect for the Public Service, has changed since the Labor Party have gone into opposition in this state. The great difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal government is the way the Labor Party in opposition will continually attack public servants during question time and in their grieves. Our side of the house believes that the buck stops with ministers. The Premier has been very clear about that.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: We are not about blaming public servants—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —for our failings. As ministers, we have ministerial responsibility. We have cabinet government, cabinet unity—

Mr Brown: You wouldn't know how to spell it.

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Playford!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —and we are getting on with delivering for this state. But time and time again, in question time and in grieves, we see individual public servants, sometimes named by the opposition, denigrated and their careers put into jeopardy, in fact, as they are maligned, which then makes its way onto social media and into the realm of the print media and the news media as well.

Public servants, as we saw during their time in government, are still being treated with complete disrespect. The Labor Party seem to paint themselves—and they do this in many things—as the great friend of the public servant in this state. Well, they were not a friend when they were in government with their lack of merit selection, their indiscriminate sackings and the way they continually walked over the public servants, ignored the advice of public servants and discouraged and diminished the opportunities to give frank and fearless advice.

We see it time and time again. We see that it is still in their DNA. They are not the friend of the Public Service. Even in today's question time, we had denigration of the head of DPC, Mr McDowell. We saw Department for Infrastructure and Transport public servants' integrity called into question. We saw SA Health public servants, their integrity and their capacity to do their job called into question.

Earlier in the week, we saw public servants trying to do their job, getting on, working for our most vulnerable in the Department for Child Protection. They were denigrated. Their capacity to do their jobs was called into question. On this side of the house, the buck stops with the ministers. On that side of the house, it is all about blaming public servants and denigrating public servants. They, the Labor Party of South Australia, are no friend of the South Australian Public Service.

Time expired.