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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-09-20 Daily Xml
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Question Time

PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT (Lee) (14:35): My question is to the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills. Can the minister advise the house about the importance of the role of the Public Service in the regions?

The Hon. T.R. KENYON (Newland—Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for Recreation and Sport) (14:35): I am very happy to answer this question and I thank the member for Lee for it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Hammond, order! Minister, can you sit down until we have some quiet on both sides of the house. Minister for Transport, I can hear you, order!

The Hon. T.R. KENYON: We currently have a non-metropolitan unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent, a very healthy figure. There are currently more than 21,000 public servants working in our regions. For instance, there are currently more than 7,400 education employees in our regions, including teachers, school services officers, Aboriginal education workers, regional directors and administration staff. This would be cut by almost 1,860 under the opposition's jobs policy. That same policy would deliver staff cuts of around 13 at Mount Gambier.

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order: standing order 98, Madam Speaker, debate. The minister is clearly debating the answer to the question—clearly.

The SPEAKER: I would ask the minister to stick to the question as given and not comment. Stick to the substance of the question, minister. I won't uphold that point of order.

The Hon. T.R. KENYON: That would see 13 at Mount Gambier North Primary School, six at Port Augusta Special School, 24 jobs lost at Port Lincoln High, 20 at Gawler High, nine at Port Pirie West Primary, and eight at Renmark Primary. In the vocational education training sector, TAFE SA Regional employs over 650,000 staff, all very important to the development of skills in this state. A 25 per cent cut would reduce numbers by 160 people in rural areas. There is little doubt that this would likely result in many regional TAFE campuses becoming unviable and having to close.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. T.R. KENYON: A 25 per cent cut to regional health services would result in a loss of 1,400 positions, seriously affecting—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, there is another point of order.

Mr WILLIAMS: I don't believe that the minister is answering the relevance of the question. I don't believe his answer is relevant to the question asked.

The SPEAKER: The question was, 'Can the minister tell the house about the impacts of cuts to the Public Service in regions?' From what I am hearing, he is answering that question.

Mr WILLIAMS: No, he's not, Madam Speaker. He is making some sort of fictitious argument about a fictitious set of cuts—or is the minister detailing the government's policy, that these are the cuts they are going to make?

The SPEAKER: Thank you. You have made your statement. You can sit down now. Minister, can you be careful in your wording of your answer.

The Hon. T.R. KENYON: We would see serious impacts right across rural and regional South Australia in the event of a 25 per cent cut to the workforce. We would see potential cuts to 68 health service positions in Mount Gambier, 48 in Port Augusta, 54 in Port Pirie, 31 in Port Lincoln, 36 in the Riverland, 59 in Whyalla and 34 in Gawler, all of which would seriously compromise the standard of health care in our regions. The opposition's policy would also result in police numbers being cut by at least 25 per cent across the region.

Mr WILLIAMS: Madam Speaker, standing order 98: the minister is clearly now debating, and he is referring to something which he thinks is the opposition's policy. He is completely wrong.

The SPEAKER: Member for MacKillop, the question was a very open question. It is very hard to define what the question meant so, minister, you can answer.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for MacKillop.

Mr WILLIAMS: I am with you, Madam Speaker. It is very hard to understand what the question meant and I suspect it should have been ruled out of order.

The SPEAKER: I think a lot of other questions could be ruled out of order also if I start getting too tough. Minister, you have about two minutes left.

The Hon. T.R. KENYON: The opposition's policy would also result in police numbers being cut by at least 25 per cent across—

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order, Madam Speaker. This is not the opposition's policy but even if it were the answer is out of order because it is debate.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: What's the standing order?

Mr WILLIAMS: No. 98, Patrick. Go and read it.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

Mr WILLIAMS: I said even if it were, the answer is still out of order.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. You don't shout at each other across the chamber. As I said, it is a very wide-ranging question. There are no borders on the question. I guess the minister can answer how he chooses.

The Hon. T.R. KENYON: Thank you, ma'am. A 25 per cent cut in police numbers across the regions equates to 233 positions. This would result in 27 of the 110 existing country police stations having to close. There would be 26 fewer police officers on the Limestone Coast and a cut of 31 in the Yorke and Mid North region which includes Port Pirie. The Eyre and western region, including Port Lincoln and Whyalla, would be left with 38 fewer police officers while the Far North, including Port Augusta, would experience a cut of 41 officers. In the Barossa, 22 officers would be cut and the Hills Fleurieu region would lose 34.

The impact on important rural services provided by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA would be considerable with more than 60 staff under threat from a 25 per cent cut. The cut would be felt across regional centres like Ceduna where potentially Biosecurity SA's eight quarantine staff who keep our state free of disease and pests would drop to six. In Yamba, the Riverland PIRSA has 13 inspectors working from a large quarantine station to keep the state free of pests and diseases. This number would drop to 10 or less under the proposed cuts of 25 per cent. PIRSA currently employs six fisheries officers in Port Lincoln to look after compliance to protect our valuable fish stocks. Potentially one or two of these positions would be lost with a 25 per cent cut in numbers. Our regional public servants are doing a good job but it is unrealistic to suggest you could cut that number by up to 7,000 without affecting vital services in our rural cities and towns.

The SPEAKER: I want to advise the minister that was a very general question. There was no need to refer to the opposition in that question. You can talk about a general cut across the board and you didn't need to bring the opposition into it.

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