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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
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ITALIAN CONSULATE

Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (15:30): My question is also for the Minister for Education and Child Development—

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Point of order. Question time has expired.

The SPEAKER: I have just realised that.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I had given the call before I realised that question time had finished. The member for Morialta.

Mr GARDNER: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development. When the minister returned from Italy in September and announced that she had been responsible for saving the future of the Italian consulate until the end of next year, was she aware that Under Secretary Mantica, whom she met with, was also at the same time announcing that the consulate would close in June next year?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Education and Child Development) (15:30): The Italian government—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! You will listen to the answer. I allowed the question.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: In about 2009 the Italian government announced that it would close Brisbane and Adelaide. Since that time this government, because we value the massive contribution made by the Italian community, the most significant ethnic community in the state—in fact, we value all our ethnic communities—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: They announced they were going to do this, and the government, then led by premier Mike Rann, was very clear in our opposition to this. The government, and now minister Rankine as the new Minister for Multicultural Affairs, the Premier, and I as the local member for the consulate, in fact, remain committed to doing everything we can to keep this open. I was advised earlier this year in conversation with a number of people in the community that I should do my very best—in fact, the member for Bragg on Italian radio urged me to do more. She said, 'You must do more,' to which I responded that I would—and I did. I was advised—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —to get myself to Rome as soon as I could, because their information was that the then Italian government would be making a decision very soon about the future of the consulate. When I got there I raised a number of issues with the Italian government—the consulate was one of them and the other issue was in relation to the payment of Italian pensions—and the Under Secretary, Senator Mantica, listened when I explained very clearly our position in relation to this matter and he said to me that the consulate would remain open until the end of 2012—brand new news to me.

Upon my return I, of course, announced that. Why until the end of 2012? He said to me, 'That would give us time to consider and have a discussion—'a discussion that has now been set for next year—'about the future needs of the Italian community, not only in South Australia, but in Australia.' So for the Italian government—which has always wanted to shut the consulate, and for us it has been a case of campaigning every day to keep it open—the issue was about contextualising the discussion around the consulate in terms of the needs of the Italian community. This information was received very well by the Italian community, but—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: And it was new information. It was new information, certainly to me. But, don't listen to me—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: Don't listen to me—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: This is what Orietta Borgia, who is the acting consul here in Adelaide, said in relation to my trip to Italy:

We believe that the trip was very useful, and we were very happy that she had undertaken it. Minister Portolesi comes from an Italian background and she is very close to our community. Her trip to Italy has been very valuable, because it shows that South Australian representatives have a strong interest in the Italian-Australian community and their welfare. I wish to stress again that the Italian consulate and the Italian community are very appreciative of the assistance and support we have received.

I also want to mention our new Premier's statements in relation to this matter, where he said, the day before yesterday, that we will be advocating our position very strongly with Italian diplomatic representatives.

I understand that the new minister for multicultural affairs has sought meetings with the Italian ambassador. I have sought to make phone contact, and the Premier has signed a letter to the new Foreign Minister. That is the fact that is forgotten in all of this; we actually now have a new government. Yes, there was a deal, as it has been reported—

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition, you are warned.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: Yes there was a deal, as has been reported by InDaily, with the previous government. We now have a new government, and we remain—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: We remain as committed as ever—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: That's right; someone tell them Berlusconi is no longer there. We remain—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: In fact, it is with some irony that the member for Morialta asked this question, because I recall—I think it was the day before I left, or two days before I left—being with the member for Morialta at a function in the member for Norwood's electorate (which he wasn't actually present at), where the member for Morialta came up to me and said, 'All the best with your trip.'

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: 'All the best with your trip with the consulate,' Madam Speaker. I ask the member—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. C.C. Fox: Outed!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: Outed, that's correct. I ask the member for Morialta, and all members, to work with this government—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —in ensuring that we keep our consulate open for as long as we can.

Mr GARDNER: Supplementary question, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Order! No, I'll take no supplementary questions at this stage; you can save it until the next question time.

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