Question Time

Unanswered Questions

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:27): I seek leave to make an explanation prior to directing a question to the Leader of the Government on the subject of unanswered questions.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The Leader of the Government will be familiar that more than 4½ years ago I first raised questions of her, in May of 2011, in relation to the appointment of a personal friend of hers, and a leftie Labor mate, Karen Hannon, to the position of the presiding member of the then Residential Tenancies Tribunal.

I outlined in the explanation at that particular stage that Ms Hannon was not only a friend of the minister's but had been the Labor candidate in 1998 for the federal seat of Adelaide; that there had been an expression of interest for positions on the Residential Tenancies Tribunal; and that as part of that process all applicants had to be interviewed by a properly constituted panel to judge whether or not they were suitable to be a member of the tribunal.

I was informed that Ms Hannon's application to be simply a member of the tribunal was rejected by that properly constituted panel. I was further advised that the minister personally intervened and not only was Karen Hannon made a member of the tribunal but she was also given the plum job of presiding member of the Residential Tenancies Tribunal.

I also outlined in the explanation at the time that the former presiding member, Pat Patrick, who had been widely regarded, had handled hundreds of cases on average per year and generally had handled the most complex cases for the tribunal. I was further advised that the new presiding member, Ms Hannon, had initially advised all the staff that she would not be participating in or handling any hearings at all but that after some pressure I was advised that she commenced participating in a smaller number of hearings when compared to the former presiding member. I put the questions at that time and then I put a follow-up question to the minister in the middle of last year. The first questions were put when she was the minister, and secondly my questions were directed to her representing the appropriate minister at the time. They were:

1. Is it correct that prior to 2010 Ms Hannon applied to be a member of the Residential Tenancies Tribunal, was interviewed by a properly constituted panel and was not successful in her application to be a member of the Residential Tenancies Tribunal?

2. Did former minister Gago personally intervene in any way in relation to the appointment of Ms Hannon to be a member of the tribunal and ultimately to be the presiding member of the Residential Tenancies Tribunal?

3. Will the minister now indicate in answer to questions the number of hearings the previous presiding member, Pat Patrick, participated in in each of the financial years 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10?

4. How many hearings did Ms Hannon preside over in the period between October 2010 and May 2011, when I first asked this question?

The history of this is that for three years the minister refused to answer the question, aside from some personal abuse about the asker of the question. Then, when I directed the question to the new minister, thinking that we might get a response, the minister did say, 'I will refer those questions to the appropriate minister in another place and bring back a response.' There was a clear commitment given in August last year to this house. The minister would refer the questions to the appropriate minister and bring back a response.

The concern I have is that, with the stories that the Premier's media minders are spreading about the future prospects of the minister, should the house get up next week and no answer has been provided, we may never get an answer to these questions which have been pursued for 4½ years and to which the minister give an assurance to this house, 18 months ago, that she would bring back a response. My question to the minister is: will she assure this house that she will bring back answers to these questions first asked 4½ years ago before parliament gets up next week?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:31): I thank the member for his question. My goodness, if that's the best he can do, it's a bit pathetic, I have to say. It is old news, an event that absolutely no-one cares about—no-one cares about, except the Hon. Rob Lucas because he has this distorted conspiracy theory of the world that he alone shares. No-one cares, absolutely no-one cares, and it's so old.

It's amazing that in an important question time—one hour—when they have got me all to themselves and they can give it their very best shot, that is what he comes up with, an old question that is years and years old and which absolutely nobody cares about. I am good for my word. As I had indicated, I did indeed send those questions to the appropriate minister in another place, and I am absolutely sure they were given the attention that they deserve.