Public Sector Enterprise Agreements

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:30): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Industrial Relations regarding payment of public servants.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: Today, on the steps of parliament, South Australian public sector nurses and midwives are holding a major protest over a rejected pay offer. They join a chorus of public sector workers who are at the mercy of a government who have spent more than $200 million on self-agronising advertising—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: —self-aggrandising advertising and half a billion dollars on his failed hydrogen project hoax, including a whopping $800,000-plus payment to one government employee. So my questions to the minister are:

1. How can the Deputy Premier of this state justify paying $800,000 to a single government executive when our whole health system relies on our nurses and midwives, who just want a real wage increase?

2. What does this $800,000 plus payment communicate to public sector staff, including your own parliamentary and electorate staff, who are all waiting for the finalisation of their enterprise bargaining agreement and real wage increases?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Deputy Premier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (14:31): It is a good question and I will try not to 'agronise' anyone with my answer. We have traversed this a number of times, and I am extraordinarily surprised to hear the opposition asking about paying public sector workers and valuing them appropriately. We have heard time and time again in this chamber the attitude the Liberal Party have taken in the past about valuing public sector employees. Let's have a quick examination of that again.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: We had my predecessor, the Hon. Rob Lucas, regularly get up in here and chastise union bosses as if that wasn't something to be proud of. It was remarkable the way he treated those who choose to spend their lives representing workers.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: In the time of the last Liberal government, we saw real wages fall. We saw a deliberate policy to make sure public sector workers got less and less year on year.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: You asked a question, you are getting the answer. I can't hear it. The Hon. Ian Gilfillan is in the gallery. I don't want you to embarrass yourselves in front of the Hon. Ian Gilfillan.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Sorry, sir, we won't 'agronise' too much longer on this with people in the gallery listening. The previous Liberal government cut the real wages of public sector workers in South Australia. They demonised those who led those unions. We don't do that. We value public sector workers. We value those who represent public sector workers. Just this year, we have seen public sector enterprise agreements voted up and approved by the SAET for allied health professionals, giving real wage increases over and above inflation.

We have seen enterprise agreements voted up by their membership and approved by the SAET for public sector doctors, giving real wage increases over and above inflation. This stands in stark, stark contrast—stark, stark contrast—to those opposite. Don't look at what they say—and they are pretending that they value public sector workers now—look at what they do when they get the chance to do it: they cut wages. We will continue to negotiate in good faith. Another thing we won't do that the previous government did is set artificial boundaries on negotiations.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: 'There will be no back pay. Ambos will go four years without a pay rise.' That's not what we do, that's not we're doing, and we will continue those negotiations because that is the right thing to do.