Shop Trading Hours

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:54): My question is to the Premier. Has the Premier taken any time to familiarise himself with why a range of small businesses throughout the state of South Australia are fundamentally opposed to the Premier's stance on total deregulation of trading hours?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:55): I think there's a range of views when it comes to having more flexible hours for shopping. We know that the former trade union leader, the Leader of the Opposition, is opposed to further deregulation of shop trading hours in South Australia. Apparently, now he wants to tinker with an hour here or an hour there, but the reality is that the people of South Australia have made it abundantly clear—abundantly clear. We know that those opposite were against liberalisation like shopping on Boxing Day. Actually, people really enjoyed it in South Australia.

Mr Malinauskas: I introduced Boxing Day.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Leader—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Chaffey—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Leader!

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Before I ask the Premier to take his seat, before I ask the question—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Leader!

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition is warned for the second time and I'm going to call to order the member for Chaffey and the Minister for Education.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: It's quite clear there is nothing that the Leader of the Opposition hasn't been responsible for. He is responsible for the sun coming up each day, for the moon, Christmas, Easter—literally everything. There is nothing this man can't control from opposition. There is nothing, absolutely nothing—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Premier, there's a point of order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The Premier is mocking the parliament, sir.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, I don't uphold that point of order. In fact, I think the Premier, in a way, was invited to provide that response. The Premier.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Thank you very much, sir, and I thank you for the invitation to continue my answer with regard to this important issue of the further deregulation of shop trading hours in South Australia because it's an important one. The simple fact of the matter is that the people of South Australia have spoken. They spoke at the last election. They have spoken in every single plausible poll on this issue over an extended period of time. They don't want the highly restricted arrangements that have been in place for such a long period of time, the restricted practices that we have tried to change but were blocked by the Leader of the Opposition and the opposition here in South Australia.

The reason why we would like to get on the program, like the rest of the country, is that we believe in jobs. We believe in jobs. I get a lot of feedback as the Minister for Tourism in South Australia that it is embarrassing. People come over here, they come from interstate, they go out to do some shopping late on a Saturday afternoon: closed, completely and utterly closed. Would that be the case in Sydney? Would that be the case in Melbourne? Not a chance.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Not a chance. We are losing so many valuable dollars and, ultimately, hours for employees by tightening up our trading hours in South Australia. What we are doing here in this parliament because of the bloody-minded position taken by the Leader of the Opposition, the former trade union boss—who still, by the way, I think shares some staff here up in his office with the SDA, what the reason—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Well, that's my understanding. That is my understanding, that you've got some people doing some graphics who work between the two offices.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Premier, take your seat.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: They have almost integrated them.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Premier, take your seat.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The Premier just made a statement to the house as fact, that a union official works in the Leader of the Opposition's office, and I ask him to substantiate it or withdraw it.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I could not hear the member for West Torrens' point of order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The Premier made a statement of what he claims to be fact to the house, that a union official works—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Minister for Energy and Mining can take his seat. The Minister for Skills and Innovation is called to order—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The Minister for Skills and Innovation is called to order, the member for Playford is warned for the second time and the leader is on two warnings.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The Premier made an assertion to the house as fact. He claimed that an SDA official employed by the union works in the Leader of the Opposition's office.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Wait!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Substantiate it or withdraw it.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: So what is the point of order, member for West Torrens?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: He may have misled the parliament, sir. He has made a statement that the Leader of the Opposition employs someone who is employed by the SDA.

The Hon. S.S. Marshall: Move a motion.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Move a motion? Are you inviting me to?

The Hon. S.S. Marshall: Well, you've got it wrong. Who would have thought you would get something wrong.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am still not clear, member for West Torrens, whether you have asked the Premier to withdraw or not.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Sir, I have asked him to substantiate his claim to the house.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, member for West Torrens, that's not a point of order. The Minister for Energy and Mining has a point of order.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Yes, just to clarify for you, sir. I was listening very closely. The Premier said nothing about union officials—nothing whatsoever.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, minister, sit down.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Playford can leave for half an hour.

The honourable member for Playford having withdrawn from the chamber:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Colton has the call.