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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-11-02 Daily Xml
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Sporting and Infrastructure Grants

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): My question is again to the Premier. Can the Premier confirm whether any minister delegated responsibility to approve sports and infrastructure grants and, if so, which minister was it and was a conflict of interest declared? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: Despite many questions in public and in this house, no conflicts of interest have been disclosed, nor explanations of any actions taken, yet on Monday the Auditor-General gave evidence to the Economic and Finance Committee that, and I quote, 'There were some instances where ministers had delegated the responsibility in approving grants.'

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:21): As I have made perfectly clear—and I am more than happy to go over this with the Leader of the Opposition in any way that he likes—there are important processes that need to be followed when it comes to the expenditure of taxpayers' dollars. As a government, we have made it very clear that we have every intention to honour all of the election commitments that we have made.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: I know that's an approach—

Mr Tarzia: Just tell us. It will go away.

The SPEAKER: Member for Hartley!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —that may be foreign to members of the opposition, but here in this government we are being very—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hartley!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —methodical about the way we are going about this. Something that I know the opposition is familiar with, one of the reasons why we have established—

Mr Tarzia: Just tell us. You used to ask us.

The SPEAKER: The member for Hartley is warned. The Premier has the call.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: One of the reasons why the government has established the Premier's Delivery Unit is to make sure we go through each of those election commitments—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Frome! Member for Colton! The Premier has the call.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: The reason we established—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hartley is on two warnings.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —the PDU is to make sure we can go through all of the large number of election commitments, of which there are hundreds, to ensure that we are going back and checking and making sure that we are delivering them, and that includes the delivering of election commitments that go to sporting communities. I note that it is a policy not too dissimilar—

Mr Tarzia: Imagine if he just delivered. What would he do?

The SPEAKER: Member for Hartley, you are on two warnings.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —to the Women's and Children's Hospital.

Mr Whetstone: There's nothing to hide.

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey, you are now on two warnings.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: I note that this is a policy the now opposition can't work out whether they support or oppose. There were a vast number of sporting club commitments that were made by the former Labor opposition that were subsequently copied by the Marshall Liberal government in the lead-up to the election. Now they are saying that they weren't real commitments from the Liberal Party; they were only commitments that were subject to an unknown process. Our commitments to the people of South Australia we see as being genuine, but also needing—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —to be delivered upon, and that's why we are making sure that we are getting them rolled out, including through the state budget process, a process that is established under the law—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta, you are warned for a second time.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —subject to the Auditor-General's inquiries, and must conform with cabinet process, and that's exactly what we have done.

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

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Morialta, you are on two warnings.

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