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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-07-01 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

Members, Accommodation Allowances

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (15:09): I am very sorry that the member for Finniss's dog has died. My condolences to him and his family. The question I wanted to ask him was: do you own the property you live in in Victor Harbor? Obviously, the answer is, no, he rents. The next question would have been: why would you move from a house that you own in your electorate to one that you do not? There is only one difference between the two houses: one is eligible for the country members' allowance and one is not.

What is wrong with asking those questions when now we have a minister of the Crown failing to declare ownership of another property? Guess where? Victor Harbor. What is in the water at Victor Harbor? Something special is going on in Victor Harbor. It could be the people—there are good people in Victor Harbor—the views or its proximity to the GPO. There is something special about Victor Harbor. It is not that far, but just far enough. The idea that so many Liberals are populating the branch at Victor Harbor must be of concern to one faction or another and it is cross-factional.

The member for Finniss has moved from his family home of 35 years to rent in the same seat, but he has gone to Victor Harbor. The President of the Legislative Council claims a land tax exemption for his home in Norwood and has a rental property in Victor Harbor that he claims he lives in but advertises online for rent. The photographs show a lot of fridge magnets on the fridge about house rules, little nice toiletries wrapped up and little biscuits. I hope the Premier enjoyed those little biscuits and that he put all the towels into the bathtub to be washed when he was finished, as you do at any other rental accommodation. I hope he enjoyed the mints that were on the bed, too, because in all the photographs—

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell: Terry's turndown service.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Terry's turndown service. All the photographs that we saw show that this is not a family home: this is a rental property. The most concerning part about the accusations now levied against two senior Liberals in the upper house is that the gatekeeper for all the information that would either exonerate them or incriminate them is held by one of the accused. In any other system in any other part of the world, if one of the accused was the gatekeeper for all the information they would stand aside, but the Premier and all these members think it is okay that the Premier stand by this man.

The Premier made a statement to this house assuring us that Victor Harbor is Terry Stephens' home. The Premier of this state stated in unequivocal terms in the House of Assembly that Terry Stephens' principal place of residence is in Victor Harbor, despite all the overwhelming evidence that it is not. We know that his post goes to Norwood. We know that his telephone number in the White Pages is Norwood. We know that during the COVID crisis, when everyone was told to stay home, he stayed in Norwood. The dawn service—Norwood. He baked homecooked meals for Crows players who were feeling homesick at his home in Norwood. We do not see many family photographs on his Facebook site from Victor Harbor.

Now this has dragged in another minister failing to declare on his register of member's interest an investment property managed by the same company that managed the Hon. Terry Stephens' rental property. The tragedy about this is that I quite like Terry Stephens and David Ridgway. I think they are nice people. I really wish it were other Liberals who were doing this because there are plenty over there I do not like, but, unfortunately for me, the ones I do like are the ones caught up in this.

But that is the point. What is more important: friendship or the institution? Friendship or fighting corruption? The idea that parliamentarians can receive secret payments of up to $¼ million dollars per term in property they are not living in or not entitled to do so is abhorrent. It puts at risk genuine members who claim this allowance, like the member for Stuart.

From what I can tell, he has genuinely claimed this allowance—good on him. He represents a very large electorate that is difficult to represent, as does the member for Giles. It is hard—vast distances. It is hard being here. I get it. So when people rort it, I should not be angry: the member for Stuart should be angry, the member for Flinders should be angry and the member for MacKillop should be angry because they are the ones who rely on it and rely on it being done properly, not being rorted for financial gain.

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