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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-09-19 Daily Xml
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Bailey, Mr C.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (14:54): My question is to the Minister for Environment and Water. Did the minister's Chief of Staff, Cullen Bailey, inform the minister he had requested a list of staff that had worked in the former minister's office?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (14:55): I thank the member for West Torrens for that question because it is worthwhile me putting some information on the record about this matter, given the lengthy tirade that the member for West Torrens put into the public domain yesterday. I do think it is important that we set some facts right here before the rumours and innuendo that the member has been putting out there go unchecked.

Following a question I received on 17 May 2018 in this place regarding whether I was aware as to whether my Chief of Staff or any member of my staff had made a request within my department for a list of staff who had worked for previous ministers, I said that I was not aware of that. At that time, I wasn't aware and, as we know, that was held not to have been misleading the parliament. Following being asked that question, I did take the opportunity to speak to my Chief of Staff about that matter and clarified what had actually occurred.

I ask the member for West Torrens to listen very carefully because this is very telling as to how this side of the house will operate. What occurred is that when I became a minister there was a situation—and the opposition would know that this is the case—that my office was set up in a very skeleton form by the department. It turned out that my Chief of Staff had requested if there was anyone in the department who had previous experience of working for previous ministers, not so that we could have a witch-hunt against them but so that they could be given the opportunity to come and work in my office, so that—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: And it's all falling apart now for the member for West Torrens. The witch-hunt is coming to—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on the right and left!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —a cul-de-sac.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Mr Speaker, I've got more to share because, once it became apparent—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I'm listening.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —that there were people in the department who had experience working in ministerial offices, rather than hunt them down, we employed them. Since becoming a minister—

The Hon. S.K. Knoll interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Transport is called to order.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —six months ago, I have had staff in my office who worked for minister Maywald, federal minister Wong, minister Gago and former minister Hunter. They have been working in my office. And in the last few weeks—

Mr Duluk: They've never had a better boss.

The SPEAKER: The member for Waite is warned for a second and final time.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: They have never had a better time, because I respect the Public Service. We know from a report that was handed down by one of this state's commissions exactly how the member for West Torrens treated public servants. I've got two words for the member for West Torrens: Michael and Buchan. That says it all. That's the way they treat the Public Service; it's not the way that I do.

Last month, I had the pleasure of employing a senior ministerial liaison officer in my department who had previously worked for minister Maher—there is a fifth Labor minister who had staff who worked for the Labor government and now work for me in my office. So there has never been a witch-hunt against people, as has been suggested by the member for West Torrens. In fact, what my Chief of Staff did was exactly the sort of thing that I would want a member of my staff doing: looking for good people with the right experience to provide a service to me and my ministerial office.

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