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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-02-24 Daily Xml
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Labor Party

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:36): I wish to refer to the continuing division and disunity within the state Labor government, sadly at a time when it should be concentrating on growing jobs and the South Australian economy. We saw in the recent reshuffle the considerable tensions within the state Labor government.

The former leader, the Hon. Gail Gago, we know was in tears late last year in question time when asked questions about the rise of the Hon. Mr Peter Malinauskas in this chamber. The Hon. Gail Gago has been relegated to that corner of the chamber where failed or disgraced leaders of the Labor Party go, the chair formerly accommodating the Hon. Bernard Finnigan.

We also hear from Labor sources that the Hon. Mr Hunter was extremely angry at the recent reshuffle and that his relationship with the Premier was considerably strained because he was furious when the suggestion was that he would not be made the Leader of the Government in this chamber and that the junior minister, as he saw it, the Hon. Kyam Maher, would be promoted in his place as the Leader of the Government in this chamber.

We also note that minister Hunter, when he was overseas just before Christmas on his trip to Europe, was furious when members of his staff told him that there were people in his office in Parliament House checking it out as an office for the Hon. Mr Peter Malinauskas. He was so furious that he rang various important people back here in South Australia expressing his anger that there would be anyone checking out his office in Parliament House as a potential office for the Hon. Mr Peter Malinauskas. There is no doubting the rising tensions within not only the Legislative Council Labor caucus but also the caucus generally with the rapid rise and promotion of right faction leader, the Hon. Mr Malinauskas.

The recent book by former minister Hill has reopened wounds within the Labor caucus as well. He has launched a barely disguised, bare-knuckle attack on Labor right faction bosses and the Hon. Russell Wortley. I quote from his book where he talks about promotions to the Labor cabinet:

Brainpower, or lack of it, isn't essential for success as a minister. One would hope though that a good brain well used can achieve more than a poor brain, no matter how managed.

How does one measure ministerial success? For some just getting the title, the name on the door and a bunch of public servants to do your bidding is success enough.

During my period as minister, Caucus selected a particular candidate to the ministry who not even the most partisan Labor supporter would believe was chosen on the basis of talent. On entering Cabinet he must have felt like Stephen Bradley…

He is obviously referring to Steven Bradbury, but I continue:

…winning a gold medal when all the other competitors fell over. Sure, it's a gold medal and it can never be taken away but can it really be described as success if whenever your name is mentioned it is accompanied by sniggering.

As I said, there is no doubt that the former Labor minister, John Hill, is referring to the Hon. Russell Wortley's promotion to the Labor cabinet. Labor caucus sources in this place in the last couple of days have all been openly sniggering or chuckling at John Hill's outing of the background to the promotion of the Hon. Russell Wortley to the position of a minister in this chamber.

We all know the Hon. Mr Wortley's sorry record. I think he had the fastest no-confidence motion ever moved against him in the chamber within the space of about four sitting days as a minister. I think he had a number of other successful no-confidence motions moved against him during his period as minister in this chamber.

There are a number of other elements of the John Hill book which I am sure are occupying the minds of many within the Labor caucus at the moment. As I said, whilst in this case this is a bare-knuckle attack on the right faction bosses who promoted a clearly incompetent person into the position of cabinet minister—and clearly that is the view of John Hill in his book—there are clearly many other elements of the John Hill book that throw a very unfavourable light on the faction dealings that go on within the state Labor Party and, as I said, sadly at a time when they should be concentrating on growing jobs and the economy and not worrying about the jobs they can get for themselves.

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