South Australian Museum

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:05): My question is to the Premier. Does the Premier have confidence that the Chief Executive of the South Australian Museum is progressing the recommendations endorsed in the Premier's review? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: More than two months after the Premier committed support to recommendations contained in his review, I have been advised that a number of Museum staff are most concerned they have not seen evidence of steps taken to implement those recommendations. Further, in contradiction to the commitment the Museum cease some proposed changes, the move to discontinue association with the molecular lab has continued with the Uni of Adelaide being told that the Museum will not contribute funds or staff to service the lab anymore as they have for the last 21 years.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (15:06): I thank the Deputy Leader of the Opposition for his question. I know he has had an interest in this subject for a sustained period of time and I acknowledge his advocacy in that regard. The government, of course, did conduct a Premier's review of the proposed changes to the Museum that made a number of recommendations that also did result in changes, including at a board level.

The Minister for Arts subsequently has also made changes in respect of the appointment of a new board chair in Rob Saint, former Deputy Vice Chancellor at Flinders University who has a credentialled science background, which we thought was important given some of the challenges that were happening around the Museum. It is the government's absolute expectation that under the leadership of Mr Saint, who is the person who ultimately reports to the minister, the recommendations that were made and accepted by the government are implemented in full. For the purposes of the political architecture of the government or the cabinet architecture of the government, to the extent that we should have confidence in anybody who is in a board chair, we absolutely do.