South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (14:48): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Assistant Minister to the Premier regarding the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: On Tuesday 30 March, the assistant minister was asked a question about links to a Liberal Party website being embedded in a media release issued in her official capacity as the Assistant Minister to the Premier. The assistant minister wasn't sure which of her media releases or which hyperlinks the opposition was referring to. This is unusual, given the assistant minister has only ever had her name attached to three media releases in three years.

Only one media release related to the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission and it's the most recent one issued with the assistant minister listed on it. The assistant minister said in the media release:

I encourage all South Australians to participate in this significant review to ensure that their voices are heard.

The media release went on to say:

To register for a forum, join the online discussion and download a copy of the discussion and research papers, visit www.yoursay.sa.gov.au/multicultural review.

Instead of taking people directly to the state government's YourSAy website to share their views, the link provided by the assistant minister went via the external Liberal Party website, stevenmarshall.com.au. My question to the assistant minister is exactly the same as on Tuesday, so I trust there will be no trouble in providing an answer.

Given that people have come here from overseas hoping for a better life, sometimes from countries where governments spy on their citizens, why would the assistant minister call on all South Australians to contribute to a review of the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission Act in April 2019 and then provide a link that diverted them via a Liberal Party website that is used for data harvesting?

The Hon. J.S. LEE (14:50): I thank the honourable member for his questions. To answer the first question about calling all South Australians to participate in the legislative review of SAMEAC, we should not be looking at our multicultural society in one framework, because everyone gets to come across and meet somebody from a different background. The whole of the South Australian community should participate in a review that impacts on the day-to-day interactions of our multicultural communities. So I think that is valid.

To answer the second question about whether the particular press release or link about the SAMEAC review actually goes to a Liberal Party website, I believe many members, including the leader of our government and the minister representing the portfolio of the public sector, have already provided an adequate answer. There is no data collected in terms of harvesting, and that has been adequately dealt with in the last two days in the answers provided by the minister for the public sector.

The PRESIDENT: Supplementary, the Hon. Mr Wortley.