House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time HomeBuilder Program HomeBuilder Program Mr COWDREY House of Assembly Colton HomeBuilder Program Mr COWDREY (Colton) (14:40): My question is again to the Treasurer. Did the Treasurer start advocating for an extension before or after an extension had been confirmed by the federal minister? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain. Leave granted. Mr COWDREY House of Assembly Colton Mr COWDREY: On 14 February, the Treasurer said: The reason why we haven't advocated for the commonwealth to open this back up is because there are many thousands of Australians over the last three years who haven't qualified for HomeBuilder… The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly Lee Treasurer The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer) (14:41): That was exactly right. We had understood from the federal government through numerous engagements with them that they had no interest in doing so, that they had no interest in opening it back up. The position that I put to the parliament was— Mr Cowdrey House of Assembly Colton Mr Cowdrey: So you are just doing what they say? Roll over, don't worry about it, don't advocate for anybody? The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Colton, you have asked your question. The Treasurer is attempting to answer. The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly Lee Treasurer The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: It might have escaped the member for Colton's attention, but it is a federal government program: it is not a state government program. It is not open to the discretion of the states or territories. It is only open to the federal government to determine not only the level of the grant but also the criteria and who should be eligible for it. It had been made clear to— Mr Cowdrey House of Assembly Colton Mr Cowdrey: You said they couldn't be changed, over and over again. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Treasurer has the call. Mr Cowdrey House of Assembly Colton Mr Cowdrey: No scope for change. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Colton is warned. The Treasurer has the call. The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly Lee Treasurer The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: It had been made clear that the commonwealth was not contemplating reopening it, and that's why I took the view, which has now proved to be correct, that to advocate for only one group of applicants rather than all those people who have been impacted by exactly the same pressures on the building industry would be fundamentally inequitable. The person who has ended up at the end of all of this with egg on their face is the member for Colton because it was he who took the untenable view that only a certain segment of applicants deserved help rather than all the applicants who had been impacted by the same pressures of the building industry. That is exactly the position that the member for Colton took in this place. Of course, that's all I have got to go on because, as I have reported, he refused to detail his concerns to me despite me, in successive weeks in this place, extending an invitation to him to contact me, my office and RevenueSA directly. He refused to do it. He is happy to run out to the media. He is happy to serve up constituents for media consumption— The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER House of Assembly Morialta Deputy Leader of the Opposition The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order, sir. The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly Lee Treasurer The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: —but he is not happy to do the hard work. We have done the hard work, and we have got the result. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Treasurer, there is a point of order under 134 from the member for Morialta. The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER House of Assembly Morialta Deputy Leader of the Opposition The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Standing order 98. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: There is some force in the member for Morialta's submission to me. As well, I observe that standing order 127(3) prohibits members from making personal reflections on any other member. In any event, it may be that the Treasurer has concluded his answer in relation to this question.