HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Member Index
Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-03-29 Daily Xml
Contents
Pdf Xml

Member for Mawson

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:44): I rise to speak about the increasingly obnoxious and boorish behaviour of the member for Mawson, Leon Bignell. Members in this chamber will be familiar with his behaviour over many years in relation to excessive expenditure on overseas trips, expenses that have been widely publicised, and embarrassing Facebook photos of himself with a glass of beer in hand and a KFC bucket on his head at Adelaide Oval.

A number of government ministers and MPs have been openly discussing over a period of time, and have been openly critical of, Mr Bignell's behaviour on those occasions and many others. He has proved to be an embarrassment to himself, his party and to the state of South Australia, given that he is a minister of the state.

I refer to another recent incident earlier this year where Mr Bignell, the member for Mawson, was at a function at Adelaide Oval associated with a cricket match being conducted at Adelaide Oval. The member for Mawson Mr Bignell's boorish behaviour was again apparent when he embarrassed himself and the government on that occasion in front of many other guests at that particular function.

For some reason, evidently, the member for Mawson, Mr Bignell, wanted the Adelaide Crows to give him a jumper of the new Adelaide Crows women's team in the AFL Women's league. At that particular function, on three separate occasions, the member for Mawson, Mr Bignell, approached a senior Crows official in front of many other guests (so this was not a one-on-one discussion) in an increasingly aggressive manner demanding to be given an AFL Women's Crows jumper. On the third occasion the member for Mawson, Mr Bignell, approached this senior Crows official at this public function, the member for Mawson, Mr Bignell, was told in very blunt terms to go away and to put his request in writing in a more appropriate manner.

Obviously, the events of that particular evening were reported to Premier Weatherill because on the following morning Premier Weatherill rang an even more senior Crows office holder, and in that telephone conversation apologised for the behaviour of the member for Mawson, Mr Bignell, at the function the previous evening. He said that Mr Bignell's behaviour was being dealt with by the Premier and the government, and told the senior Crows office holder that the Crows need take no further action in relation to the member for Mawson Mr Bignell's request for the jumper.

The Premier concluded by saying that the government preferred that this particular incident would attract no further public attention, the inference clearly being that the government would prefer to keep the matter out of the public arena as it was a matter of some embarrassment to the Premier and the government in terms of the minister's behaviour in a public place.

I am also advised that another senior cabinet minister, that is, other than the Premier, also apologised to that senior Crows office holder about the behaviour of Mr Bignell at that particular event and that particular function. Sadly, the member for Mawson Mr Bignell's behaviour at that particular function has been typical of his obnoxious and boorish behaviour over a long period of time.

I have to say that I am pleased that the Liberal Party at the moment has a long list of very talented potential candidates looking to contest preselection at the next state election for the electorate of Mawson. Certainly, I look forward to the circumstances in March 2018 when the good people of Mawson will be given the opportunity to make some judgement about the obnoxious and boorish behaviour of the member for Mawson, Mr Bignell, and will have the opportunity to remove him not only as their local member but also as a minister of the Crown in this particular government.

Parliamentary colleagues and others who know the member for Mawson, Mr Bignell, have become increasingly embarrassed by his behaviour over a long period of time. This recent event only adds to the circumstances, as I said at the outset, of his unfortunate experiences in terms of wasting taxpayers' money on overseas trips and on lavish expenses, again at taxpayers' expense.

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