House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Sports Funding Sports Funding Mr TARZIA House of Assembly Hartley Sports Funding Mr TARZIA (Hartley) (14:53): My question is to the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing. For what purposes will the following local sporting club grants be used: $2 million to West Adelaide Hellas juniors and $1 million to Kilburn West Adelaide Soccer Club? Mr Whetstone interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Chaffey is called to order and warned. The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly Lee The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer) (14:53): Some of us are familiar with the activities of local sporting clubs in electorates across South Australia, and in particular those two football clubs, in order to improve their facilities. I admit that, in the eyes of some, that may not have the same cachet as trying to position an asbestos and sulphur-contaminated former refuse site into a new recreation reserve in the north-eastern suburbs. That was the proposal that those opposite put. That is what they took the election. We decided— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: —to support local sporting clubs. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Treasurer, please be seated. I will turn to the member for Morialta. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The proceedings in a point of order are clear under 134. The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER House of Assembly The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The question was very straightforward: for what purposes were two particular grants being put, and standing order 98 requires that debate not be entered into. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Standing order 98, of course, has been a matter that the member for Morialta and I have wrestled with for some time and I'm sure will continue to wrestle with. Treasurer, I draw your attention to the question. The Treasurer has the call. The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: To those who were paying close attention, they might have noticed that I answered it precisely in the first sentence, but that must have eluded the member for Morialta— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is on three warnings. The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Perhaps he was thinking about his new high school—who knows? But those funds, like funds that were committed to many other sporting and community clubs, were for a variety of purposes, and in those particular two instances were for the improvement of their facilities and their offerings to their members and to the local community. I don't see why we have members of the party opposite criticising a government of the day for committing and providing funds that it made election commitments around— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: —open for choice to the local community in the most democratic process we know— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Chaffey is warned for a second time. The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: —which is an election— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Treasurer will be seated. I will hear the point of order under 134. The member for Morialta. The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER House of Assembly The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Every convention about how 98 has been used in this house, and understood by Speakers— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER House of Assembly The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: —would see that this is clearly debate. He is criticising the opposition for matters that aren't even relevant to the question. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER House of Assembly The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: It is utterly against the standing orders and he should be pulled up. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Chaffey can leave the remainder of question time under 137A, 23 minutes. The honourable member for Chaffey having withdrawn from the chamber: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Standing order 98 contemplates that in answering a question a minister or other member replies to the substance of the question and may not debate the matter to which the question refers. To my mind, the substance invites reflection on the pith or the heart of the question but, as the member rightly observes, it also prohibits debate. Treasurer, I draw your attention closely to the question. I uphold the point of order. The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: These funds are to provide improvements to the facilities and to the offerings of these two organisations, both to the members and to the communities in which they are located. I don't see why this line of questioning is being pursued, unless, of course, they don't support these initiatives by the government. Members interjecting: The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: If that's the case, just say it. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Which ones don't you support? Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Hartley, please be seated. The member for Morialta is directed to leave the chamber under 137A. Member for Morialta, I have called your third warning several times, 22 minutes. The honourable member for Morialta having withdrawn from the chamber: