HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Subject Index
House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-11-11 Daily Xml
Contents
Xml

Members

Valedictory

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley) (17:31): I seek your indulgence, sir.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: On 3 May 2006, just a couple of weeks after my 43rd birthday, I stood in this place, elected as the new member for Unley. It was only this year that I learned that I was in fact allocated number 679, the 679th person to join the South Australian House of Assembly in its history. That number is a stark reminder of just how privileged we all are to serve the people of South Australia in this place.

During my first speech, I spoke of my difficult experience as a 16 year old in obtaining an apprenticeship: 100 job applications and 50 letters of rejection across a variety of trades, finally landing an apprenticeship with a family firm. I did not know it at the time, but this opportunity was the key to my professional career. Although today I reflect on my 20 years in this place, I will always be grateful to the people of Unley in particular who were prepared to hand over deposits to order bespoke furniture based on a hand drawing and a handshake with an unknown 21 year old from Salisbury starting their own business in Unley.

Then, 22 years later, once again my local community were prepared to give me a go, this time representing them in the South Australian parliament. Without their support over the past 40-odd years, I would not have had the opportunities of self-employment and public service. The biggest debates in this place are not about what we believe in; we all believe in mainly the same things. We all want the best schools, the best hospitals, safe communities, reliable public transport and accessible economic and social opportunities. Debate is about how to achieve those public outcomes in our community. That is the politics.

My biggest personal reward in business and in politics has been making a difference for others. I am proud that during my 22 years of running my business I trained 20 apprentices who went on to use their trades, enterprise and work ethic in successful bigger careers as they moved on from Eureka Furniture. Starting my own business at age 21 locked me in to a strong belief that the private and free enterprise system delivers Australians with one of the highest standards of living in the world and is the fairest and most accessible economic system we know. It may not be perfect, but it is the best system there is for delivering opportunity for everyday citizens.

Getting a start in your own business can be difficult, but sometimes the bigger barrier is not understanding that the opportunity is there for you. In my early years in business, I was amazed at how generous those much older, more successful and more experienced were. They were happy to give me, a newbie, a go, offer advice and recommend my business to others. To many of you who gave me your advice and support, I thank you.

For seven years I was the shadow minister for training and further education. I was a regular attendee at apprenticeship graduation events and often the only member of parliament attending. I used the opportunity to build relationships with those doing the heavy lifting in skills training, the non-government RTOs and GTOs.

I was then fortunate to serve as the Minister for Innovation and Skills, in the first Liberal government in South Australia in 16 years, where I was able to use my hands-on experience to try a more practical approach to increasing South Australia's skilled workforce by lifting the status of trades and working directly with employers and training organisations to remove barriers and enhance opportunities. In just four years some 3,300 mainly small business employers, with the support of the Marshall government-funded bespoke programs, hired an apprentice for the first time. I seek leave to have statistical tables inserted in Hansard.

Leave granted.

State/Territory Growth in In-training Apprentices & Trainees (2018—2022) (%)
South Australia 71.7
Queensland 48.7
Tasmania 45.8
Western Australia 38.9
Victoria 34.9
New South Wales 33.0
Northern Territory 23.3
Australian Capital Territory 7.0

Figures represent the percentage change in the number of in-training apprentices and trainees between the March quarter of 2018 and the March quarter of 2022.


In-training time series—quarterly (as at end of quarter)

As at end of March % change
State/territory 2021 Mar Qtr 2022 Mar Qtr 2023 Mar Qtr 2024 Mar Qtr 2025 Mar Qtr 2021-2025 2024-2025
New South Wales 105 015 121 075 114 710 103 625 94 735 -9.8 -8.6
Victoria 72 240 84 665 80 730 73 820 67 255 -6.9 -8.9
Queensland 71 455 94 580 92 850 84 905 78 935 10.5 -7.0
South Australia 22 635 28 950 28 140 24 305 23 305 3.0 -4.1
Western Australia 36 600 46 110 45 090 42 145 39 890 9.0 -5.4
Tasmania 10 545 12 600 11 815 10 515 8 955 -15.1 -14.8
Northern Territory 3 645 3 740 3 610 3 605 3 395 -6.8 -5.8
Australian Capital Territory 7 495 7 600 6 525 5 330 4 355 -41.9 -18.3
Total 329 630 399 320 383 465 348 250 320 830 -2.7 -7.9


Commencements time series—12 month series (12 months ending 31 March)

12 months ending 31 March % change
State/territory 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2021-2025 2024-2025
Now South Wales 57 455 65 295 55 675 45 110 42 255 -26.5 -6.3
Victoria 37 985 51 575 43 655 33660 26 735 -29.6 -20.6
Queensland 45 395 68 000 SI 530 43 685 40 900 -9.9 -6.4
South Australia 12 630 17 820 12 970 9 040 9 225 -27.0 2.1
Western Australia 22 845 30 720 24 570 20 105 17 860 -21.8 -11.2
Tasmania 6 020 8 410 6 255 5150 4 455 -26.0 -13.5
Northern Territory 2 335 2 285 2 130 2 035 2 210 -5.3 8.6
Australian Capital Territory 4 910 4 920 3 850 3 215 2 775 -43.5 -13.7
Total 189 575 249 025 203 640 162 000 146 415 -22.8 -9.6

Source: National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), 'In-training time series—quarterly,' March 2022.


The Hon. D.G. PISONI: Before coming to government, South Australia experienced a 66 per cent decline in apprenticeship and traineeship commencements over six years. In just a single term, the Marshall Liberal government turned that around and delivered the highest growth for apprentices and trainees in training in the country—a 71.7 per cent growth. This took South Australia's national share of apprentices and trainees from 5.7 per cent in 2018 to 7 per cent in 2022, reflecting the strongest growth in the nation.

It is disappointing to see that South Australia's in-training figures have steadily decreased each year since the Marshall government's peak of March 2020 and, unfortunately, the NCVER figures show that they will not improve anytime soon, with the latest figures showing commencements falling from a peak of 17,820 in March 2022 to just 9,225 in March this year.

Free enterprise is the driver of innovation. However, a government does have a role in backing innovation and enterprise, especially ensuring that the fiscal and regulatory environment is right whether it be science, technology, manufacturing or enterprise. This is what generates skilled, well-paid jobs and better opportunities for each new generation and tax revenue to deliver government services.

I was pleased to serve a startup innovation and science sector and work alongside Premier Steven Marshall with the establishment of Lot Fourteen at the former Royal Adelaide Hospital site on North Terrace. The Weatherill government's plan for this site was a residential luxury apartment complex, which would be there now had there not been a change of government in 2018. Lot Fourteen and industries behind it have changed this state and its economy for the better forever.

I completed a four-year apprenticeship to become a cabinetmaker but it was an 11-year apprenticeship as a shadow minister before I became a cabinet minister. Just like a trade apprentice, as a shadow minister you are almost always playing second fiddle but it is so important to remember you are still in the orchestra. I found I could be heard if I turned up the volume, which I often did. We hear and we all agree when people say good government needs good opposition and, although we often hear from our constituents that they wish we all got together to get things done, it is the adversarial nature of parliamentary democracy and a free, independent media that keeps our system transparent and honest, encourages public participation and promotes policy alternatives. I believe this system has served Australia well.

I am often asked, 'How can you make change from opposition?' I reflect on some of my experiences as the shadow minister forcing transparency and delivering policy alternatives. I took on the role of shadow education minister just as the government was rolling out a plan to build a series of superschools, one of which was to be a new school, built at Gepps Cross, for children living in Prospect due to Adelaide High School's overcapacity. It wasn't long before my office was receiving calls from families who simply did not like that idea. A movement was formed. I worked with those families to develop and announce an alternative policy for Prospect parents to build a second city high school on the soon to be developed Bowden site. The government was late to respond and offered extensions to Adelaide High School, Glenunga and Marryatville high schools instead.

The education minister was the member for Adelaide who held that seat with a margin of 10 per cent. With the second city high school policy proving popular across the City of Adelaide it was an unexpected win for the Liberal Party at the 2010 election with a 15 per cent swing. Four years later, the Liberal Party again promised a second city high school. This time the government matched the promise, formed minority government and, after nearly a decade of debate, Adelaide now has two city high schools.

In 2012, I received correspondence from a concerned member of a western suburbs primary school governing council where a seven year old had been raped by an out-of-school-hours care director. The rapist had been convicted, and this was reported on the ABC, yet the school governing council were told by the Department for Education that the school community must not be told.

My question in parliament about this allegation led to a series of events, including the police issuing a media statement within an hour, contradicting the minister's answer to my question, and the then Premier, who was the education minister at the time of the rape, denying ever being told of the rape, despite an email trail to his office. It was a big story.

More reports of child sex abuse in schools around the state and of inappropriate department responses and cover-ups were coming to my office as parents wanted to share their own stories in the media to achieve the justice that they had been denied. The education minister at the time was soon moved on. Exposing the department's handling of the western suburbs school rape led to the Debelle royal commission, which in turn saw dramatic and lasting changes to school safety protocols and incident reporting in all government schools. Mark Christopher Harvey, convicted of the rape, was subsequently charged with more student rapes after additional families, whose children had used the out-of-school-hours care program, came forward in response to publicity that was generated.

It was a tough time, exposing a major departmental and political cover-up and hearing horrific and tragic stories from victims' families of incompetence and inappropriate responses by the department when parents had reported sexual abuse of their child at school. I even received concerns notices from known Labor law firms on behalf of Premier Jay Weatherill and education minister Grace Portolesi, designed to try to dull my pursuit of justice for the victims, which was embarrassing the Weatherill government. Of course, when challenged, those threats went nowhere. They were simply designed to try to silence me.

In 2014, the Liberal Party announced a policy for bringing South Australia in line with every other state and territory in Australia by transitioning grade 7 into high school, thereby introducing grade 7 students to specialist maths, science and humanities teachers in South Australia for the first time. The policy was opposed by the Labor Party and the Australian Education Union. The Liberal Party put the policy forward again in 2018, which it won.

Western Australia and Queensland had made the change several years earlier, but in those states the move had bipartisan support. The process was started by Labor governments and completed by Liberal governments in both states over eight years. Here in South Australia, the grade 7 transition, the biggest reform to education in South Australia in a generation, involved a massive building and upgrade program. It was delivered by Marshall government Minister for Education John Gardner and his department in just four years, without a hiccup. This was despite a two-year worldwide pandemic and opposition from the Labor Party and the Education Union. Until 2022, South Australia was the only state to teach grade 7 in primary school.

My shift to being shadow transport and infrastructure minister in 2016 provided new opportunities. I was pleased to have developed the policy for the building of an overpass for traffic entering Port Wakefield Road from Yorke Peninsula—a long overdue regional project and delivered by the Marshall government.

Conducting local school tours has been most enjoyable, sharing the history of not just the South Australian parliament but of the Westminster system more broadly and how, over centuries, it has evolved into the civil democracy we enjoy today. The Australian system of parliamentary democracy is a stand-out when it comes to accessibility. Participation is achievable, regardless of your status at any level, whether that be engaging with your local MP, joining a political party or making a run for parliament yourself. You do not need personal wealth, social status or family connections; you just need a strong work ethic and good community support.

This building is itself a monument to how accessible democracy is in South Australia. Built in two halves, 50 years apart, premiers of South Australia Tom Price (1905) and Frank Walsh (1965) both worked on it as stonemasons, constructing the very building that they would later govern the state from.

Former test cricketer and former Speaker Gil Langley, an electrician by trade, held the seat of Unley for more than 20 years. I am told he had a screwdriver in his pocket when he was doorknocking so he could make minor electrical repairs on request. Although, as a cabinet maker by trade, when knocking on doors my skills were not quite as portable, I was often invited to inspect, in situ, a piece of furniture that I had made years earlier. And I know that on the campaign trail, Rosalie Rotolo is enjoying sharing culinary advice when she encounters her former customers in shopping centres and out doorknocking. I found that connecting, not just through politics but also through real-life experience, is so important. Members with broad experience, shared aspirations and experience collectively make a truly representative parliament.

Politics is a real test of your own values. In my 20 years in professional politics, as in life, the true test of character is not how far you are willing to go to advance oneself, but how steadfastly you stand by your values, your team and the people who support and place their trust in you. We have seen examples in South Australian politics where individuals have chosen an easier path—abandoning their party, their colleagues and their principles they once claimed to uphold for personal gain. That path might deliver a short-term position or a headline, but it comes at the cost of integrity, credibility and respect. Real leadership, on the other hand, is not found in opportunistic deals or convenient alliances; it is found in those who stay the course, who work hard within their team, who debate honestly, who are loyal team players, who earn the respect of their peers and who understand that trust, once broken, is almost impossible to rebuild.

Achieving your goals through loyalty, consistency and conviction may sometimes be a little more testing but it builds something far more enduring: genuine respect, unity of purpose and a legacy of integrity. In the end, it is easy to change sides to suit yourself; it is far more difficult and far more noble to stand firm in what you believe in and bring others with you—not by betrayal, but by example.

In closing, it was the Liberal Party that ensured that Australians themselves were directly heard on the question of marriage equality and I will admit that, at the time, I was unsure whether a plebiscite was the right mechanism. I was pleased with the overwhelming public vote in favour. In hindsight, the result delivered something profound: it took marriage equality out of the culture wars. This issue was settled directly by the people, not politicians, and because of that it has not re-emerged as a divisive campaign toward election time.

After stagnation of social progressive reform during my first 12 years in this place, I am proud of what this parliament has achieved over the past eight years. We have removed pregnancy termination from the criminal code, we have legalised voluntary assisted dying, we have abolished the hateful gay panic defence, we have curtailed coercive control and limited so-called conversion therapy, but there is still much more to do. The fight for equality, particularly for women, remains unfinished.

Gains that were hard-won since South Australia became the first place in the world, where women could run for parliament, are now being eroded from the extremes at the left and the right of the political spectrum. We continue to see attempts to restrict women's reproductive autonomy and, at the same time, policies that confuse the protection of women's rights with the removal of women-only spaces. Fair rights for one must not compromise the fair rights for another. Even today, in 2025, there are still those in this chamber who claim that domestic violence is a private matter. Disturbingly, their comments go unchallenged. That alone shows we still have a lot more work to do.

We must also confront the uncomfortable truth that discrimination and violence against women too often hide behind the shield of culture or faith. Practices such as forced and underage marriage, female genital mutilation, the denial of education of girls, the exclusion of women from religious leadership, the expectation of female submission in marriage are not traditions to be respected, they are injustices to be dismantled.

Many see freedom of religion as the cornerstone of our democracy, but it cannot be a free pass for the oppression of others. Religious and cultural traditions must never override the fundamental human right to equality. Faith may have its place in the heart, in the home and in the community, but it must have no place in the making of our laws and no place in this parliament when it seeks to deny others' rights and freedoms.

Before I sign off, thank you to my wife—she has been our family's rock, our champion and our safe place. She has been my chief adviser, my critic and my sounding board. To my children: thank you for your support and understanding.

Thank you to my long-suffering office staff, especially my long-suffering adviser and Chief of Staff when I was minister, Grant Ker, whose advice and guidance was instrumental in my success in this place, and whose advice has often saved me from myself. I also thank Kim Meier, my skills adviser when I was minister (and the real Opposition Whip), whose competence and intelligence lifts the entire team.

To those Liberal members and supporters in Unley and beyond who have been on this ride with me from the beginning, and those who have joined along the way, I thank you. To my parliamentary colleagues, friends, foes, thank you for the sport. And to those of you who are at the start of your political careers, I wish you well for the state for which you will deliver and for the future you will make. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta) (17:50): On indulgence, sir. Thank you, David, for what you have just shared with us, and I think that nobody really knew what to expect when you rose to your feet this afternoon. I speak for everyone, I am certain, when I say that we were really impressed—and a touch relieved.

David, for seven years I know you have been waiting to use the expression 'from cabinet-maker to cabinet minister' and you nailed it. You have been a fierce competitor. You were instrumental in the performance of the Marshall opposition and our route to government in 2018. The respect in which you are held by many people in the business community, many people in politics and the media, and perhaps no more than in the skills and training sector of our economy, is something that will be with you for the remainder of your years.

While you have been an extraordinarily vigorous participant in the political system, you have always been committed to your values, you have been compassionate for the vulnerable in our community and you have been fearless in standing up to conventional wisdom and on behalf of those who have needed your advocacy. It has always been impressive to me. You have always stood for fairness, you have stood for justice, you have stood for people's rights, and perhaps a right that none of us had appreciated prior to meeting you, the right to one's opinion. The key to that is that you have always been unafraid to offer your opinion.

We used to have a rule over the years when Steven Marshall was chairing meetings that David Pisoni was always, always, always worth listening to. It was essential to listen to every idea that David Pisoni had. Admittedly, two out of three ideas were crackers, but the third was always a pearl and you had to listen to them all to make sure you picked the good one.

So thank you for your service to the parliament and thank you for your friendship. From Trudi and myself most sincerely to you and your beautiful wife, Michelle, and to your wonderful children, thank you very much.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Energy and Mining) (17:52): On indulgence, sir. I think it is fair to say we have not always agreed with the member for Unley, but I do make this observation: in the time he was a shadow minister—and I do not want to disparage his colleagues—he was without a doubt the hardest working shadow minister I have ever seen in my life. He was up before everyone else, he was on the radio, he was at events, he was at a crash at an intersection, or a bus that had broken down, or a burst water main—he was there. He was a workhorse for the Liberal Party. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he is passionate about his team and he is passionate about what he believes in. I always felt that he was a very, very good performer, a very good performer.

Now I am biased because he is of European descent and I have a bit of a soft spot for those of us from Southern Europe, but nevertheless he worked hard, and he can leave this place and hold his head up high amongst his colleagues that he did work hard, he did put his shoulder to the wheel, he did fight for his cause. He never gave up his faith in what he believed in. I do not think it always potentially helped him, it caused some criticism, but he always stuck by what he believed in.

He and I believe in very different things and, in hearing his remarks, I can see the differences. But what I can see in there is a man of conviction, and the hardest thing about being in this place is hanging on to those convictions. I think it is fair to say that the David Pisoni who came into this parliament and the one who is leaving has the same convictions if not stronger, and for that he is a credit to his family and his parents.

His parents made a big sacrifice to come to this country, and he has worked hard and he has returned to them the favour of succeeding and assimilating and doing a wonderful thing for the Australian community, and that is serving. For that service I thank you, and I think you have done an exceptional job, and I wish you well in what comes next.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (17:55): On indulgence, I, too, would like to wish the member for Unley all the very best in the next part of his journey. I think from the workshop to the parliament, as has been pointed out by several colleagues, David Pisoni certainly has not forgotten where he has come from. I think in one word I would describe one of his values and one aspect that he has shown in spades is grit. The member for Unley has grit.

He is always available for free advice, sometimes at 6 o'clock in the morning—which I am very grateful for as the Leader of the Opposition. He has served his community of Unley with distinction, and I acknowledge the distinguished guests who are with us today, but also the Liberal Party and the state. I can remember the night in 2018 when we were triumphant. I can remember the member for Unley and other members who were just so relieved and happy to have formed government. I acknowledge the hard work, determination and perseverance of people like the member for Unley and how hard they had to work, and the hurdles they had to overcome election after election after election, just to get to that point. Of course, he was instrumental in that.

He is a hardworking member of the opposition and his ministerial advocacy and achievements are there for everybody to witness, and I think the next member for Unley has big shoes to fill, but I know that she will do an exceptional job. David, we do sincerely appreciate all your work for the party and the community and the state, and we wish you, Michelle and your family all the very best for the future.

The SPEAKER (17:56): Thank you for those words, on indulgence, and I would like to add my best wishes to the member for Unley and thank him for his service to the parliament and to the people of Unley who he has represented so well for 20 years, and also to the portfolio areas he represented as a shadow minister and as a minister. Congratulations and, as the Leader of Government Business said, you can hold your head high for 20 years well served in this place.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT