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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-02-15 Daily Xml
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SA LOTTERIES

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:38): I seek leave to make an explanation prior to directing a question to both the Leader of the Government and the minister representing the South Australian Lotteries Commission on the subject of the South Australian Lotteries Commission.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: On 23 February last year and again on 29 July last year, I asked a question of the Leader of the Government, as the minister in charge of SA Lotteries, a series of questions about her knowledge of the decision of officers in her ministerial office to privatise the Lotteries Commission. Also, I referred to some work that had been done by ABN AMRO in relation to a valuation of the Lotteries Commission in a series of questions asked on 29 July. Unsurprisingly, those questions remain unanswered.

Mr President, as you are aware, the government last year announced its decision to proceed with the privatisation of the South Australian Lotteries Commission. That decision has been met with considerable anger by people in the community but, in particular, newsagents. In recent weeks, newsagents in both metropolitan and regional areas have been receiving telephone calls and letters from the Lotteries Commission threatening them with a potential loss of their agency agreement to sell Lotto products.

Some newsagents who had only expressed the mildest of criticisms in the media—one who just indicated he had concerns about the government's decision—have received these particular threats. A story in a regional newspaper, the Mount Barker Courier, stated:

Several newsagents contacted by the Courier declined to comment saying SA Lotteries had threatened to strip them of their lotteries licences if they did so.

There is a further quotation from one particular unnamed newsagent who did go on to express his or her concerns about the decision by the government to privatise.

A number of these newsagents not only received telephone calls but also received official warning letters from the Lotteries Commission claiming that any media comment at all was in breach of SA Lotteries policy and of their agency agreement with the Lotteries Commission. The warning letters quote the following clause from the agent procedure manual:

Agents are not authorised to comment to the media with respect to SA Lotteries or its products. Any media request must be immediately referred to public relations.

My questions to the Leader of the Government and to the minister are:

1. What discussions, if any, have there been between the South Australian Lotteries Commission staff and officers in the minister's office about stamping out dissent from any newsagents about the government's decision to privatise the South Australian Lotteries Commission?

2. Since January 2002, and up until the time of the decision announced by the government to privatise the South Australian Lotteries Commission, were any newsagents ever warned about speaking to the media and sent official warning letters quoting this particular clause of the agent procedure manual and, if so, how many?

3. Will the Leader of the Government indicate why, for a period of 12 months now, she has persistently refused to provide any answers to the questions asked by me, originally in February of last year and again in July last year, about the decision to privatise the South Australian Lotteries Commission, and is the leader now prepared to indicate to the house that she will ensure that answers to these questions are promptly provided to this chamber?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (14:42): I thank the honourable member for his important questions. I remind the honourable member that the government is not privatising lotteries. We are entering into a lease arrangement; we retain ownership of intellectual properties and also the royalties back to South Australians, so he is quite mischievous there. I am happy to refer those questions to the Minister for Business Services and Consumers in another place and bring back a response.

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