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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-02-14 Daily Xml
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Federal Budget

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:42): My question is to the Premier. Did the Premier or any person acting on his behalf have discussions with One Community representatives before the organisation applied for the $750,500 of South Australian taxpayers' money to fund its participation in the 2016 federal election campaign?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:42): I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did because we made it very clear when we set up the Federal Cuts Hurt task force, which was to deal with the health and education cuts which emerged from that fateful 2014 Hockey-Abbott budget, that we would establish a—

Mr Knoll: Why were you too embarrassed to put your own name to it?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: In fact, we did. If you look at the website, it says, 'Funded by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet,' so it was hidden in full view from the community. Better than that, at the press conference that many of those in the media attended where we emerged from the Federal Cuts Hurt task force, we said we would run a community campaign.

This represents the difference between Labor and Liberal in this state. We stand up and fight for South Australia when it's under attack and we don't discriminate, whether the federal government is Labor or Liberal or whether the forces arrayed against us are public or private. We campaigned for a better deal for the River Murray against a federal Labor government. We campaigned—

Mr Knoll interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert is on two warnings.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We will always stand up for South Australia against powerful interests. We certainly approached community groups to assist us in pursuing that campaign in much the same way as we pursued our Australian-made defence when we supported the Defence Teaming Centre to run a community campaign, and we had a great victory there as we secured the future submarines project. We are a campaigning government. We make no mistake about it; we disclose it fully. Do you remember those two lovely old ladies doing that ad, the pensioner ad where they are having that little chat over a cup of tea?

Mr Knoll interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Will the Premier be seated. The member for Schubert is showing no compunction about my earlier calls to order. I believe from standing orders there is an oubliette in the parliament available to accommodate people who disrupt the proceedings of the house. That is the last warning. The Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Thank you, sir. I wouldn't want to get between you and the exercise of discipline. I think they are quivering with excitement on the other side at the prospect. Leaving that small matter aside, the truth is that we have always been prepared to stand up and fight a public campaign. Do you remember those two lovely ladies who were having a cup of tea discussing the cuts to pensions? That was a powerful campaign.

Ultimately, we joined with all my federal counterparts, the premiers and chief ministers from the other states, famously including the New South Wales premier, Mr Baird, and now his successor, who has recommitted herself to fighting off these federal cuts. We achieved a partial victory. We received in excess of $100 million of additional health-care funding. It is not enough. It is less than 20 per cent of what was cut, but for the relatively modest contribution which held this federal government to account for its cuts, we receive benefits. The truth of this is that Senator Birmingham has a glass jaw. When he got tickled up by One Community, he started to squeal, as the federal Liberal Party do.

They do not like it when you hold them to account. What they then do is get very upset, and they start ringing around people. I understand that a few phone calls were made around the place to put pressure on community groups to stop saying nasty things about the federal Liberal government and their cuts to education—$335 million in cuts to South Australian schools. So, instead of coming in here and questioning me about what I am doing to campaign against these cuts, why don't you add your voice against these cuts?

The SPEAKER: The Premier's time has expired.

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