Malinauskas Labor Government

Ms SAVVAS (Newland) (15:16): My question is to the Leader of Government Business. Can the Leader of Government Business update the house on the performance of the government in this place during the current parliamentary session?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Energy and Mining) (15:17): It is always important to compare and contrast between this parliament and past parliaments. I thought I would give us a few stats. The Premier has already talked about the number of bills and measures we have passed. We have passed 206 pieces of legislation; the previous government passed 190. The number of government bills lost in the House of Assembly while we have been in office: none; the number of government bills lost in the House of Assembly by the previous government: two. The number of government members who crossed the floor in this session of parliament to vote with the opposition: none; the number of government members who crossed the floor to vote with the opposition—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I will get to the ministers in a moment—and none of ours are on charges. In the previous parliament, four government members regularly crossed the floor to vote with the opposition. The number of parliamentary inquiries into Deputy Premiers: for us, at this stage, none; for the previous government, one. The number of Deputy Premiers sanctioned for misleading the parliament: for us, none; in the previous parliament, one—and suspended from the parliament. The number of Speakers removed from office forcibly by the parliament: in this session, none; in the previous session, one. Members of the executive who were given the functions and powers of the Attorney-General while not actually being the Attorney-General: during this session of parliament, none—we actually have an Attorney-General; in the previous parliament, one.

While we are on the subject of ministerial resignations, a quick recap under the previous government. The honourable member for Schubert had to resign his ministry over an expense scandal. The member for Chaffey—we remember that little nugget; he had to resign. The member for Hammond had to resign as government whip. The number of leaders of government business who had to stand down, and this is a stat very important to me: during this term, none; under the previous term, we had two managers of government business, one of whom had to go after a slight pairing incident. In the last term we also saw the Legislative Council President resign, with his replacement expelled from the Liberal Party after contesting a vacancy without party room backing. That's not exactly stable.

By contrast, in this current term there have been no ministerial resignations due to scandal or controversy. The former Deputy Premier has left with our regret and kind wishes for her future. The former Treasurer, in the last parliament, finished off his term destroying two Liberal governments—first, the Olsen-Brown government, and then he finished off the Marshall government—whereas our former Treasurer has left this government in an excellent position with four budget surpluses, an improved credit rating and budget surpluses across the forward estimates, for which we are eternally grateful.

The number of former government MPs facing criminal charges during the parliamentary term on this side of parliament: none. Under the former government: three. I want to quote the member for Kavel—

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: Go back a bit further and you'll see Bernie Finnigan there.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: CFMEU! CFMEU!

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: We've had no sex offenders over here, mate; you have.

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley can leave for 10 minutes.

The honourable member for Unley having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I want to quote the member for Kavel:

The Marshall government is making enemies. It is infuriating the property council. It is quarrelling with the hotels association and the master builders—

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: The Leader of Government Business, there is a point of order from the member for Morialta.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Sir, it is against standing orders to quote Hansard from the same session.

The SPEAKER: I reckon you probably know it off the top of your head, I would say, Treasurer.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Basically, if you compare and contrast this term, it has been an island of stability, unity and discipline compared to the chaos of a government that had a working majority that tore itself to pieces. Within four years they have continually lost members, and now they are asking for another four.