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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-10-19 Daily Xml
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Sporting and Infrastructure Grants

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:15): My question is again to the Premier. Is the Premier aware of any assessment or recommendation from any government agency regarding the expenditure of $133 million of taxpayers' funds for sporting club and infrastructure grants? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: The Auditor-General's Report tabled yesterday states, and I quote:

…I was advised…that there are no government records that capture the assessment processes and decisions about which individual sporting clubs and local infrastructure projects would receive grants…

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:15): I again thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question because it goes to an important principle, and I am happy to confirm to the house and the opposition at large that, yes, we did seek the authority in respect of our decisions on this expenditure to sporting clubs; we did seek the authority of the highest order in the land, and that of course is the people of South Australia.

At the 19 March election, we went to the election with an explicit and prescriptive set of commitments in a whole range of policy areas, including investing in communities, which was the principal thing that got us through COVID. They made it clear to us their expectations of the government and what all their hopes and aspirations of the government were. We made it clear to them, in full detail on the public record that indeed enjoyed scrutiny of the then government at the time about what we would do. Having received the endorsement of the highest authority in the land—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —in our liberal democracy, we intend to honour the commitment that was made to them. Of course, I do note that that qualification and commitment that was made on this side of the house—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —might have been made by those on the other side of the house as well.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: Of course, we know that residents in the seat of King now enjoy an outstanding representative who is a powerful advocate for her local community, so when she made a commitment to the people of King that should she and Labor be elected as government that the McGilp Recreation Park would receive $1.5 million, the people of King agreed, but it also turns out that so did the member for King and the government at the time. So only a few months later they, too, made the commitment.

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: Similarly, when the member for Wright—

Ms Stinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Badcoe!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —accompanied by the member for Newland, made a commitment to Tea Tree Gully Gymsports of $3.5 million, guess what? Someone else made a commitment too, except this time it was $3.6 million. Of course, the list goes on: TK Shutter Reserve in Torrens—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey! Member for Morialta!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: The member for Torrens made a commitment, and of course the Liberal Party quickly followed.

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is warned.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: And, of course, this old doozy: when we made a commitment to fund building a new aquatic centre, you canned it first—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —then backed it second.

Mr Cowdrey interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Colton!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: Was your election commitment in the lead-up to the election a qualified one? This is an important principle because maybe when we come to 2026—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta! Leader!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: Maybe when we come to the 2026 election there will be two different methodologies applied when it comes to election commitments. On this side of the house, they make the commitment, we deliver; on that side of the house, you make the commitment but there's a little asterisk associated next to it saying there's a qualification associated with it—two very different processes.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! On this occasion, the member for West Torrens. The Premier has the call.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: The Leader of the Opposition asked if we sought a higher authority in respect of this expenditure and the answer is yes. We went to the electorate, we made commitments on a whole suite of areas—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —it didn't matter if they were big health infrastructure commitments, or commitments to local community groups—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Schubert!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —that it turns out you backed in as well, we made commitments. We see those commitments as being absolute and that's why we intend to deliver upon them.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

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