House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-09-18 Daily Xml

Contents

Volunteer Screening Fees

Ms COOK (Hurtle Vale) (15:07): My question is to the Premier. Why has the government broken its election promise to abolish all volunteer screening fees, with the state budget showing that the fee waiver applies only after 1 January and to two out of five screenings for volunteer organisations, which will now be left to foot the bill?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (15:08): I thank the member for her question. We have delivered exactly and precisely what we said in the lead-up to the election. We are very grateful—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left! You have asked the question.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —for the volunteers who contribute so massively to our economy here in South Australia. They are significantly better off because of the commitment that we made in the lead-up to the election. It's a bit rich for those opposite now to be saying that they value volunteers. We know exactly and precisely how they treated volunteers—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —over an extended period of time. We value the people who contribute more broadly to our economy. We are very proud of the commitments, each and every single one of the commitments, that we made in the lead-up to the election. We are very happy that we have been able to deliver on each and every single one of them. Can I just say—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —by way of proof on this issue—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —I have been overwhelmed by comments from people who work in organisations that will be the beneficiaries of these cuts to the screening tests that were imposed by the previous government. They are very grateful because this will be a big improvement to their bottom line. It will enable them to put money within those organisations to better use to serve the people of South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hurtle Vale is warned. The Minister for Transport is warned.

Ms Cook interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hurtle Vale is warned for a second and final time. The member for West Torrens.