House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-09-10 Daily Xml

Contents

Land Tax

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:25): My question is to the Premier. Does the Premier agree with one of his backbenchers that the policy development on his land tax aggregation has been 'an absolute train wreck'?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order: the member may not introduce quotes without leave of the house.

The SPEAKER: He could, of course, ask the question another way. He could maybe paraphrase it. He didn't. I uphold the point of order. I will give the leader one more go.

Mr MALINAUSKAS: My question, it being rephrased, to the Premier is: does the Premier agree with the policy development reference from his backbench that it has been an absolute train wreck?

The SPEAKER: Better. Premier.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:26): I know you gave him time to rephrase the question, but it made more sense the first time, but anyway—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —the reality is—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —that reform is difficult. We appreciate that on this side of the house, but because it's—

Mr Picton: A train wreck. Train wrecks are difficult.

The SPEAKER: The member for Kaurna said something about trains and he is warned. Premier. Yes, the Premier has the call. Let's get on with it. Premier.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Reform is difficult, but it doesn't mean it should be avoided. We know exactly and precisely what occurred—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —over the previous 16 years of the Labor administration in South Australia.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: That's what Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: At every opportunity—

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens can leave the chamber for 20 minutes under 137A.

The honourable member for West Torrens having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —for genuine reform, those opposite crumbled. They crumbled. They kicked every single difficult issue under the carpet. They didn't want to know about it. I put it to you, sir, that those opposite know that this reform has been called for—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —for a long period of time.

The Hon. S.K. Knoll: Are you going to offer bipartisanship then, too, are you?

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

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Not only are we dealing with this aggregation issue but we are simultaneously delivering significantly lower rates, an increased threshold, and dealing with the trust issue in line with what is happening in other jurisdictions around Australia. This is a reform. Reforms are tough. We are up to it; they certainly weren't.