HomeStart

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (15:14): My question is to the Treasurer. Is the Treasurer able to indicate whether either the former Labor government or the current government considered and undertook any investigation into the privatisation of HomeStart?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:15): My interest was certainly piqued when I understand that, in the last 24 hours or so, the issue of the possible privatisation of HomeStart was raised in a public forum. I thought to myself, 'Well, hello. I seem to recall that, a number of years ago, the former Labor government were in it up to their armpits.' So I have sought some advice in relation to the potential privatisation of HomeStart.

The Hon. E.S. Bourke: So the worst ramping in history, and you're spending your time looking after—

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: As we know, under the former government, whilst they were running rampant, privatising anything that would move—

The Hon. E.S. Bourke interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —the Motor Accident Commission, the lands titles office, the Royal Adelaide Hospital—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Mr Hunter!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. E.S. Bourke interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Ms Bourke!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The Labor benches are squealing like stuck pigs at the moment.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Mr Hunter!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: This is a very sensitive issue—a very sensitive issue—because the Hon. Mr Hunter of course was a member of the cabinet that was actively engaged in approving all of these—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Hunter will be silent.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: He was in it up to his armpits.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The opposition is wasting its time. Provoking the Treasurer might mean that you will lose more question time. The Treasurer has the call.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The issue in relation to HomeStart, I am advised that the former Treasurer—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Mr Hunter!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The former Treasurer, Mr Koutsantonis—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —back in the period of 2016-17—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —as I said, whilst he was considering the privatisation—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —of everything else—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Hunter will cease.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —he commissioned taxpayer funds to investigate—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —the privatisation of HomeStart.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Mr Hunter!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: He looked at a range of privatisation options—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —of HomeStart, right through from the complete sale to the potential sale of the HomeStart loan book—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —to private bank operators.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter is out of order.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter, you are going to lose a question for your side if you do not cease now.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: So the range of options the former government and the former Treasurer investigated were right through from the potential complete sale of HomeStart through to various other options in relation to, in essence, selling off the loan book—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —selling off the loan book of HomeStart, a range of those particular options.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: At the time, the former government was investigating the potential privatisation of SA Water as well.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Mr Hunter!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: At that particular time, the government decided, because this was leading up to the 2018 election, not to proceed with the HomeStart privatisation because their privatisation—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Hunter will remain silent.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Because they, frankly, didn't have room for any more privatisations in the short amount of time left before the election—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —so they had to save a few for if they were elected in 2018, what they might be able to privatise after 2018. So the decision was taken prior to 2018—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —not to proceed with the privatisation of HomeStart, but thank goodness the Labor government wasn't re-elected because who knows what would have happened—

The PRESIDENT: The Treasurer should bring his answer to a conclusion.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —in 2018 if they had been re-elected.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: They may well have privatised HomeStart. They may well have privatised SA Water and any other government asset that was left.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I am going to go to the Hon. Ms Franks.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: Point of order.

The PRESIDENT: Point of order. What is your point of order?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: During the contribution of the Hon. Mr Lucas, which I was quite intently listening to with great interest, he referred to me as a stuffed pig. That is totally inappropriate. A nice contented cat or something or other but not a stuffed pig.

The PRESIDENT: I will ask the Treasurer to withdraw.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Mr President, I never referred to the Hon. Mr Wortley because he wasn't interjecting. It was the Hon. Mr Hunter and other members.

The PRESIDENT: No, I will ask you to withdraw.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I am not withdrawing, Mr President. I said the honourable members were squealing like stuck pigs. They were squealing like stuck pigs. I am not withdrawing that.

The PRESIDENT: I didn't hear the reference. If it says squealing pigs, there were a number of people squealing.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I said squealing like stuck pigs. I didn't call them stuck pigs.

The PRESIDENT: Okay, I am going to move on. The Hon. Ms Franks.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Ms Franks.