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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-09-10 Daily Xml
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SHARED SERVICES

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (15:47): Again my question is to the Treasurer. I am pleased that he is so interested in my history and my past life; we will see what happens from that. Can the Treasurer give a very definitive answer to the parliament as to whether or not he will guarantee that no taxpayer will suffer a net loss from the government's shared services reforms? Is there going to be any loss to the taxpayer as a result of this reform?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Federal/State Relations) (15:47): I do not understand the question.

Mr GRIFFITHS: I will read it out to the Treasurer again. Will the Treasurer guarantee that taxpayers will not suffer any net loss at all from the government's shared services program?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: How do you make a loss?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: If the savings are not what we have said they will be, it is a loss? So if I said savings will be $60 million a year and we only get $58 million, is that a $2 million loss? Is that what you are saying? I do not understand the question.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I do not understand the question. It is a dumb question. Shared services—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I am a dumb Treasurer. I have three letters of the alphabet that say I am not a dumb treasurer—AAA.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Kevin Foley: A, A, A!

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: There's a bit of hubris. For the benefit of the house, the Shared Services entity is not a trading vehicle; it is not a vehicle that is operating in the commercial market for which it either seeks an income or offers a charge other than internally within government. I have already said we have locked in savings of some $28 million; so, whatever happens, the very minimum, going forward, is that we have got $28 million locked in, infinitum.

After that I am confident we will get the next $30 million, and we will know that in the next couple of years and we will lock in—if you ever one day become finance minister, you will walk into your weekly or two-daily meetings such as I have and you will see a savings line of $60 million and you know what you will say? 'Thank God there was a Kevin Foley in this world.' That's what he will say and he will be so thankful that I had the political courage to put in shared services. Now, the truth is—

An honourable member: You are very shy.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: You do not have to tell me that; I just know it.

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