Legislative Council Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time South Australian Research and Development Institute SOUTH AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE The Hon. R.I. LUCAS Legislative Council SOUTH AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:00): I have a supplementary question arising out of the minister's answer. Is the minister indicating that she does not know the answer as to how many public servants she has cut from her portfolio and how many she is required to cut, or is she refusing to answer the question? The Hon. G.E. GAGO Legislative Council Minister for Agriculture Minister for Forests Minister for Regional Development Minister for Tourism Minister for the Status of Women SOUTH AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (15:00): I have answered the question very clearly: nowhere near as many as the Liberal opposition. All of these figures have been tabled in our budget document. All of these figures are on the public record. The Hon. R.I. Lucas interjecting: The Hon. G.E. GAGO Legislative Council The Hon. G.E. GAGO: They are on the public record for everyone to see. Members interjecting: The President Legislative Council The PRESIDENT: The minister should not waste the time of the council answering the question when the Hon. Mr Lucas has indicated that he already knows the answer. The Hon. G.E. GAGO Legislative Council The Hon. G.E. GAGO: The honourable member knows, because the record already— The Hon. R.I. Lucas Legislative Council The Hon. R.I. Lucas: She might know chickpea recipes, but she has no idea about how to run the portfolio. The President Legislative Council The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Lucas should have his pie. He is very— The Hon. G.E. GAGO Legislative Council The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Have his chickpea and eat it, too? The Hon. Rob Lucas knows that these figures are on the record, because I have already put them on the record before, as part of the budget documents. He knows that PIRSA, for instance, in 2011-12, had a cut of around 27 FTEs and for 2012-13 around 33 FTEs. He knows, because it is on the public record, that the Tourism Commission had a cut of around 38.2 FTEs in 2011-12 and an additional 3.4 in 2013-14. He knows, because it is already on the record, that the Office for Women— The Hon. R.I. Lucas interjecting: The President Legislative Council The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. G.E. GAGO Legislative Council The Hon. G.E. GAGO: —had a cut of around one FTE in 2011-12. He knows all of this, because it is on the record, and he knows that it is just wasting this chamber's time reading out figures that are already open and transparent and on the public record. I reiterate that the cuts this government has made and has planned to make are nowhere near the one in four that this Liberal opposition intends to make if it gets into government. One in four: 25,000 jobs! They are our teachers, our doctors, our nurses and our police. These would be frontline jobs—frontline services. That is 25,000 positions, one in four. It is an absolute disgrace.