National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): The minister has outlined again today that her department has had regular and ongoing discussions with the relevant federal department, which federal department is that?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:21): It is with the relevant department—

The Hon. K.J. Maher: You have no idea, do you?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: No, I do—with the relevant department that Mr Scullion is responsible for on an ongoing basis.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Well, they are ongoing discussions and Treasury-to-Treasury. I mean, the details—

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: I am not going to reveal to the honourable member in some sort of ongoing negotiation, because these are quite delicate discussions—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Let the minister answer the question.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: These are delicate discussions between the South Australian government and the national government to ensure that South Australia gets a deal landed that is in the best interests of South Australia. I refer to the response that I have given in this place before that the former Labor government did sweet two-thirds of next to nothing on this, except to bleat about the issue of a media release with federal Labor states to say, 'We want more money out of the commonwealth,' when the commonwealth had quite clearly stated to the state governments, 'Put some money on the table'—at least be prepared to match them—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: They said they're withdrawing their funding. That's what they said, and you don't stand up to them.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: I do stand up to them.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: Chuck them out!

The PRESIDENT: Hon. Mr Ridgway, I don't need your advice. Minister, please continue your response to the question.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Look, the Hon. Mr Hunter interjects inappropriately that we don't stand up to them. That is just complete crap!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Leader of the Opposition, the minister is responding to your question. Let her answer it in silence.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Are you finished?

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: Check your phone.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: No, I don't need to check my phone. I don't need to sit here and check my phone like the honourable member did as a minister.

The PRESIDENT: Minister, continue to answer the question. Do not respond to them directly, otherwise I will sit you down.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Well, I'm just waiting for them to behave like adults, Mr President.

The PRESIDENT: There is no need for you to comment on their behaviour, that's my job.

The Hon. F. Pangallo: You'll be waiting a very long time for that!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Well, I may well be. So, unlike honourable members opposite whose approach was to swear and carry on, make themselves a national embarrassment on a regular basis, carp and whinge and whine about what they weren't getting out of the federal government, we have been having constructive discussions which are ongoing and which I am not going to reveal the nature of until we have a firm deal on the table and some signatures on a piece of paper. That is the way we will approach this.

We are not going to conduct things in the public domain. We are not going to go out sledging people when we are trying to negotiate with them and make ourselves a national embarrassment as the honourable members did, when they were in government, on a regular basis.