House of Assembly: Thursday, October 28, 2021

Contents

Gibson Electorate Office

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (14:46): My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Will the minister advise the house how many allegations of intimidation have been raised against him by his staff in his electorate office since his election in 2014?

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:46): I thank the member for the question and note that he is referring to, I think, a document that was tabled in the upper house from a former staff member of mine, who went through a performance management before leaving my office. What I do know in this request for information that the member for West Torrens has made is that the FOI officer operates independently—the accredited FOI officer—and they do their job. I think it's wrong to be disparaging anyone in the Public Service who is doing their job to the best of their ability, and they will continue to do that.

I know the member has also asked and compared and put out in the media comparisons between what came back from someone else's FOI, as opposed to what came back from another FOI. Again, I stress the point that that is done independently by an accredited officer. I don't know how the member for West Torrens can know what was in one FOI and what wasn't in another FOI, especially when information wasn't released.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: What I can tell the member for West Torrens is nowhere in the FOI process that he applied for from my office would there have been documentation around locking someone in a cupboard, hiding a ladder. It just didn't happen, but he may have received that from other FOIs.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! In view of the number of interjections, I am going to ask the member for West Torrens to take a seat, and I will invite the member for Elder to ask a question.