Question Time

Building Better Regions Fund

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:20): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development regarding the regions.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: Yesterday, during question time, the minister spent a full five minutes berating and attacking the former Liberal federal government, and I quote:

That's six months they had—the federal Liberals, the colleagues of those opposite—six months they had to deal with that round of funding, and what did they do? Zero, zilch, nothing.

The minister was then forced to correct the record and acknowledge that round 6 of the Building Better Regions Fund did not close in December 2021, but rather opened in December 2021 and closed in February, mere weeks before the writs were issued. My questions to the minister are:

1. Given the panel approval process for the previous five rounds of the applications has taken on average six months, will the minister admit she got it wrong?

2. If the federal Labor government fails to fund the Mount Gambier saleyards, will her government commit to funding the saleyards because, as it has been repeated often in this place by those opposite, the Malinauskas Labor government will honour all election commitments?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The honourable Leader of the Government! I call the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, and I am sure she doesn't need your help, the Hon. Mr Maher.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:22): I thank the honourable Leader of the Opposition for her question, and I do note her criticism of the former Liberal government for taking so long to deal with the previous five or six rounds that she mentioned in terms of the Building Better Regions Fund. She alluded to the fact that each of those rounds took six months, and I share with her the criticisms of the former federal Liberal government for taking so long for each of those rounds.

The second thing is, I think what really needs to be asked here is where were the state Liberals, and indeed where were the federal Liberals, when the Grant district council applied for round 5 of the Building Better Regions Fund? Round 5 was also an application from the Grant district council for these. Did we have any funding from the federal Liberal government at that time, in round 5, for the Grant district council? We did not.

Where was the opposition—the now opposition—in terms of this? Where in fact was the member for Barker, Tony Pasin, when round 5 rejected the Grant district council for funding?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: We hear Tony Pasin now trying to cover up for his lack of action in previous months and years on behalf of the Grant district council and the excellent saleyards program. We see Tony Pasin now trying to pass the buck because he failed to get a federal commitment before the last federal election to fund the Grant district council saleyards project.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: He failed not once but many times to actually get some action on behalf of the South-East community to get funding from the then Liberal federal government for this project.

To answer the second part of the question, our government, prior to the election, did pledge $2.7 million towards this project. We were the first to pledge this. Finally, the state Liberals came afterwards, saying, 'Yes, we'll play catch-up. We'll do the same,' but that money is in the budget for this project. What we didn't have was any commitment from the federal Liberals before the election for this project.