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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-03-25 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

Parliamentary Sitting Program

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (15:04): I had the parliamentary library do some research for me on the parliament's sitting schedule during some of the biggest crises facing the state and the nation in the past. No doubt, there have been some very disastrous events that have occurred that have impacted South Australian families. The three big standouts so far were: World War I, World War II and the Spanish flu. It would be interesting for members to know that throughout all three of those traumatic events in South Australia's history the parliament has sat. Indeed, the nation's parliament sat. Why?

I say to the house that the reason these people in those times of crisis insisted that the parliament sit is that, when you are sending your sons into harm's way to fight a war in your name, to die on the Western Front, to die on the beaches of Gallipoli or to go to a faraway country to fight for another country, at the very least the leaders of the countries and the jurisdictions who are sending them to the wars are here to be held accountable, to make sure that they are being equipped with the tools they need to fight that war or to make sure that the war is justified and to ask the difficult questions.

Indeed, when the Korean War and the Vietnam War were underway, this parliament sat. When the Spanish flu was ravaging this nation, when 50 million people died around the world, this parliament sat. In a time of crisis, when people are looking for leadership, when decisions are being made, like acts being enacted giving democratic powers to appointed officials that are normally only the purview of elected leaders, now more than ever this parliament must meet. It must meet not just so we can sit around and debate bills—although that may be important in a time of urgency to pass something quickly. I do point out that today, without reflecting on a vote of the house or the mismanagement of that vote of the house—not a reflection on the Chair—this opposition, through our shadow treasurer, authorised the government to procure $15 billion in less than an hour. That is cooperative opposition.

We have done so without a budget. We have done so without the government telling us how they are going to spend the money. That is leadership from the Leader of the Opposition. That is understanding from the crossbench. That is what you do in a time of crisis. What you do not do in a time of crisis is shut down our democratic institutions. Because, if the Premier is acting too slowly or getting the wrong advice, it is here that that is fleshed out; it is here that the people hold the government to account.

We are asking people to make massive sacrifices. We are sending them on to Centrelink queues, unable or unaware of how they are going to pay the next bill. We are asking people to turn up and put themselves in very difficult situations, so we should be here. We should be here so that the Premier can answer the questions, even if it is just the Leader of the Opposition, the Premier and the Speaker, just so people know that the people making the decisions, who are authorising the decisions, have scrutiny. Not just media scrutiny, but democratic scrutiny from a loyal opposition—not here for the violent overthrow of the government but here to hold the executive to account. That is our role, first and foremost.

The idea that this parliament might somehow self-isolate for six months while we are asking other people to attend work I think lets down those past parliaments that turned up when their sons were at war and when the state was facing the Spanish flu. When we have had other pandemics and epidemics ravage this state, we have turned up. What will be said of our generation, of our parliament, if we do not turn up for work, if we do not turn up and hold the government to account?

Today, as we speak—and I point out that I have complete faith in our police commissioner—the police commissioner (unelected) is the most powerful person in South Australia. He answers to one person, the police minister. He should be here every day to answer questions from us about the exercise of that authority, as should the Premier, as should his ministers and especially the health minister, the person in charge of making sure that South Australians live rather than die.

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