Correctional Services Industrial Dispute

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:32): I seek leave to make an explanation before asking the Minister for Correctional Services a question in relation to meeting with employee organisations.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Last week, in answer to a question about meetings with the Public Service Association with respect to the dispute at prisons, the minister's reply was:

At a basic level, in answer to the honourable member's question, I have been advised of recent disputes that have occurred that have essentially been around operational issues and have not required ministerial intervention. As such, there have not been any recent meetings between myself and the Public Service Association regarding those disputes.

My questions to the minister are:

1. Has the minister ever met with the Public Service Association?

2. If so, when was the last time the minister met with the Public Service Association in regard to disputes he is having with the Department for Correctional Services?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:33): I thank the honourable member for his questions. Of course I have met with the Public Service Association. I have had great pleasure in sitting down with a number of their officials in the past, not least of which the General Secretary of the Public Service Association, Mr Nev. Kitchen. We enjoy a high-quality, productive relationship. They are a significant stakeholder when it comes to corrections generally in South Australia and are an important source of information for the government on matters that, indeed, go beyond just the usual industrial matters. I also have had the pleasure of addressing their state custodial workplace representatives and was also a guest speaker at the 40^th Annual Conference of Prison Officers Association of Australasia last year. As to the most recent meeting with the Public Service Association, I would have to consult my diary and pass that information on to the honourable member.