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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-10-15 Daily Xml
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TRANSPORT, ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEPARTMENT

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (14:59): Why has the Minister for Transport failed to ensure that his department has met audit requirements resulting in a refusal by the Auditor-General to sign off on his department's budget and finances? In his most recent report, as in previous years, the Auditor-General has raised serious concerns about the minister's department's failure to lodge its financial returns in time to enable the audit to be completed and signed off.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON (Elder—Minister for Transport, Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Energy) (14:59): The member for Morphett, as always, is a little careless with the facts. He asks one question and explains it with an explanation that does not bear any relevance, or the explanation is more accurate than the question. My understanding is that one area—

Dr McFetridge interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Then he says the department. Of course, there are—

Dr McFetridge interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Aren't you glad to be here today to hear the debate in this chamber and have a choice? I wish everyone was here to make a choice about whether they want Kevin Foley to be Treasurer or Martin Hamilton-Smith.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: What abysmal economic ignorance. He can bark all he likes. He can bark all the way to the election, but he will never be the treasurer of this state. He will never be the treasurer of this state.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Hey mate, let me tell you: I did a sum the other day and worked out that my ministerial career is already about 140 times as long as Martin Hamilton-Smith's—and he is calling me a failure! The member for Waite—the alternative premier—has demonstrated a complete lack of any understanding of the financial position of the state. I will not go over what has been said, but—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: He says the Auditor-General is wrong. That was one of their catchcries, was it not? Do you remember when the Auditor-General had to come to parliament to ask us for a law to make Liberal ministers cooperate? He wants to talk about us and the Auditor-General. Goodness me!. They treated the Auditor-General with disdain and he had to ask for a law of this parliament to make Liberal ministers cooperate—and he wants to talk about us.

Dr McFetridge interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The member for Morphett says 'your department'. I am not sure which one he means. There are audit reports—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Are you finished? There are audit reports in there.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: You are not? Mate, I have all the time in the world. How are you going? I have all the time in the world. No doubt you will still be a young man in 2014 or 2018, Mitch; just watch your health because you are going to need a very long life before you ever get what the other two Independents got. What a successful crew they were: 'two out of three ain't bad'—that is what they say: two out of three ain't bad.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: No; you never will. I agree with you: you never will do what they did—and praise the Lord for that!

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: It is not for sale, of course, because of his undying loyalty to the Liberal Party. He was in, then out, and then in, and who knows next year?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: You were not bought because you were never offered, so don't kid yourself. Mate, we look for quality not quantity. It was quality and, in your case, it would be 'Never mind the quality, feel the width.'

The SPEAKER: Order! Today's question time has been, I think, probably the worst in my term as Speaker and has just been disgraceful. I direct the minister back to the substance of the question and ask all members to cease disrupting the member on his feet.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Thank you, sir. It is my fond desire to get back to the question. I apologise for being distracted by the most aggravating interjections from the other side. This is a matter of small ambit. There is one section of detail (I think safety and regulation, from memory) which was unable to provide some information which did not allow the Auditor-General to provide the report with the rest of his report and it will be provided in an interim report. It is not the case that the department is not able to pass audit. That is simply untrue. As is so often the case, many of the things that the member for Morphett raises are not true.

Dr McFetridge interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: You would think a man who had the good fortune to see me in lycra (as he claims) would be so buoyed up by the—he certainly did not think I was a girl! There will be an interim report, it will be provided, and then the member for Morphett can try to mislead the chamber about what is in that.

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