<!--The Official Report of Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly of the Parliament of South Australia are covered by parliamentary privilege. Republication by others is not afforded the same protection and may result in exposure to legal liability if the material is defamatory. You may copy and make use of excerpts of proceedings where (1) you attribute the Parliament as the source, (2) you assume the risk of liability if the manner of your use is defamatory, (3) you do not use the material for the purpose of advertising, satire or ridicule, or to misrepresent members of Parliament, and (4) your use of the extracts is fair, accurate and not misleading. Copyright in the Official Report of Parliamentary Debates is held by the Attorney-General of South Australia.-->
<hansard id="" tocId="" xml:lang="EN-AU" schemaVersion="4.0" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="hansard_1_0.xsd" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2007/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML">
  <name>Legislative Council</name>
  <date date="2025-09-16T14:15:00+09:30" />
  <sessionName>Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)</sessionName>
  <parliamentNum>55</parliamentNum>
  <sessionNum>1</sessionNum>
  <parliamentName>Parliament of South Australia</parliamentName>
  <house>Legislative Council</house>
  <venue></venue>
  <reviewStage>published</reviewStage>
  <startPage num="9595" />
  <endPage num="9642" />
  <dateModified time="2025-10-15T16:39:15+10:30" />
  <proceeding uid="9c765b94832842eda9db62f62de0edfc">
    <name>Question Time</name>
    <text id="20250916871ac6c2d7db4e08b0000082">
      <heading>Question Time</heading>
    </text>
    <subject uid="d55468315bef4c799c0dddcf68d432ab">
      <name>Metropolitan Fire Service Travel Allowance</name>
      <text id="20250916871ac6c2d7db4e08b0000083">
        <heading>Metropolitan Fire Service Travel Allowance</heading>
      </text>
      <talker role="member" id="6706" referenceid="c8683bcbb226495ebf16e224a5e3db3c" uid="2e6690d758d247249b2d063d49645ab1" kind="question">
        <name>The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI</name>
        <house>Legislative Council</house>
        <questions>
          <question date="2025-09-16T04:45:00+09:30">
            <name>Metropolitan Fire Service Travel Allowance</name>
          </question>
        </questions>
        <startTime time="2025-09-16T14:37:57+09:30" />
        <text id="20250916871ac6c2d7db4e08b0000084">
          <timeStamp time="2025-09-16T14:37:57+09:30" />
          <by role="member" id="6706" referenceid="c8683bcbb226495ebf16e224a5e3db3c" uid="2e6690d758d247249b2d063d49645ab1">The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:37):</by>  I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Emergency Services a question relating to the Metropolitan Fire Service.</text>
        <text id="20250916871ac6c2d7db4e08b0000085">Leave granted.</text>
      </talker>
      <talker role="member" id="6706" referenceid="c8683bcbb226495ebf16e224a5e3db3c" uid="35663f17071240f6b1fb8fa5556a69ec" kind="question" continued="true">
        <name>The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI</name>
        <house>Legislative Council</house>
        <page num="9598" />
        <text id="20250916871ac6c2d7db4e08b0000086">
          <by role="member" id="6706" referenceid="c8683bcbb226495ebf16e224a5e3db3c" uid="35663f17071240f6b1fb8fa5556a69ec">The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI:</by>  As per the minister's statement, the United Firefighters Union of South Australia has accused the Malinauskas Labor government of yet another wage theft case involving underpayment of travel allowances. It is the opposition's understanding that the union asked for an audit during the Employment Tribunal hearing. My questions to the minister are:</text>
        <text id="20250916871ac6c2d7db4e08b0000087">1.&amp;#x9;Was the minister aware of, or was she briefed on, this particular request—</text>
        <text id="20250916871ac6c2d7db4e08b0000088">
          <event kind="interjection">Members interjecting:</event>
        </text>
      </talker>
      <talker kind="speech" role="office">
        <name>The President</name>
        <house>Legislative Council</house>
        <text id="20250916871ac6c2d7db4e08b0000089">
          <by role="office">The PRESIDENT:</by>  Order! The Hon. Mr Hunter and the Hon. Ms Girolamo, it is impossible for me to hear the question. I don't know how the minister is expected to hear the question. Can you please repeat where you are at with that, the honourable Leader of the Opposition? Please listen in silence.</text>
      </talker>
      <talker role="member" id="6706" referenceid="c8683bcbb226495ebf16e224a5e3db3c" uid="206be0bfd18343039ed005d7f1066293" kind="question" continued="true">
        <name>The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI</name>
        <house>Legislative Council</house>
        <text id="20250916871ac6c2d7db4e08b0000090">
          <by role="member" id="6706" referenceid="c8683bcbb226495ebf16e224a5e3db3c" uid="206be0bfd18343039ed005d7f1066293">The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI:</by>  Thank you, Mr President. My questions to the minister are:</text>
        <text id="20250916871ac6c2d7db4e08b0000091">1.&amp;#x9;Was the minister aware of, or was she briefed on, this particular request for an audit?</text>
        <text id="20250916871ac6c2d7db4e08b0000092">2.&amp;#x9;If so, why did she refuse to comply?</text>
        <text id="20250916871ac6c2d7db4e08b0000093">3. &amp;#x9;Has the minister been fully briefed on any other payroll issues within her departments?</text>
      </talker>
      <talker role="member" id="5413" referenceid="07ef1306959a44c38acfb7dce9a031db" uid="3a2be5fce80a4f599a23f3606e7ccea0" kind="answer">
        <name>The Hon. E.S. BOURKE</name>
        <house>Legislative Council</house>
        <portfolios>
          <portfolio id="">
            <name>Minister for Infrastructure and Transport</name>
          </portfolio>
          <portfolio id="">
            <name>Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing</name>
          </portfolio>
          <portfolio id="">
            <name>Minister for Autism</name>
          </portfolio>
          <portfolio id="">
            <name>Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services</name>
          </portfolio>
        </portfolios>
        <startTime time="2025-09-16T14:39:25+09:30" />
        <text id="20250916871ac6c2d7db4e08b0000094">
          <timeStamp time="2025-09-16T14:39:25+09:30" />
          <by role="member" id="5413" referenceid="07ef1306959a44c38acfb7dce9a031db" uid="3a2be5fce80a4f599a23f3606e7ccea0">The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Autism, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:39):</by>  I thank the honourable member for her question. I refer to my earlier explanation on this matter through my personal ministerial statement. As I mentioned, the government acknowledges the frustration this has caused for employees and their families, and on behalf of the government, I do extend my sincere apologies. It's just simply not good enough and we are determined to address it. It appears this issue extends over multiple governments, both Liberal and Labor, and we now must work through this once and for all.</text>
      </talker>
    </subject>
  </proceeding>
</hansard>