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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-04-13 Daily Xml
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State Government Employment

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:38): Jobs is clearly the major issue in South Australia. We have the worst unemployment rate in the nation. The government's most recent supposed jobs budget actually downgraded the jobs employment forecast, from the original 1 per cent down to 0.25 per cent. We have had a series of broken promises, which I will not list during this short contribution, from the government on jobs.

Sadly, from the South Australian public's viewpoint, rather than tackling the major issues, the Labor government only seems to be concerned about jobs for the boys and the girls, or jobs for their Labor mates. Earlier, I put on the public record the sad and tragic history of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, which is now chaired by a mate of Premier Weatherill, Kym Winter-Dewhirst, a former Labor Party staffer. We now have, at the top echelons of that particular department, a series of former Labor Party staffers and fellow travellers.

They include Mr Paul Flanagan, who is the director of government communications; Mr Rik Morris, the executive director of implementation and delivery; Ms Adele Young, who is appointed as the director of reform; and in recent months we have seen the appointment of another former Labor Party staffer, the chief of staff to Treasurer Koutsantonis, Mr Tom Carrick-Smith, who is now the director of implementation. So, you have at the top of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet a former Labor Party staffer as CEO, and we now have at the very least four former Labor Party staffers or fellow travellers who hold senior director or executive director positions in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet.

We have also seen in recent times what has happened to minister Leon Bignell's former staffer, Kerry Treuel. It has been placed on the public record in October of last year that she wrote a Facebook post in which she indicated, as she shared a glass of wine with another staffer and minister Bignell, that it was, 'The end of an era. It has been a great eight years, but all good things must come to an end.' An FOI will ultimately determine this, but after the obligatory 16-week or four months' termination payment, I am now advised that the Labor government has found a position for Ms Treuel in the Motor Accident Commission.

So, if it was the 'end of an era', it was not a very long end of an era. After the obligatory serving out of retrenchment pay, soon after she appears to have been appointed to a position in the Motor Accident Commission. I think in the interests of the public the government should indicate whether or not the position was advertised, what the job and person specifications for that particular position are, the salary and remuneration for the position, and the nature of the contract that Ms Treuel has been given.

Finally, we have seen in recent days what I would refer to as the return of 'the Godfather'. We have seen many references to this where evidently the union bosses and factional chiefs, in particular of the Labor right and the SDA, represented in this chamber by people like minister Malinauskas and the Hon. Tung Ngo and others, that Don Farrell supposedly is to be returned to the federal Senate in some sort of factional deal.

We have also seen in recent times his reappointment to a position on the Festival Centre Trust by the state Labor government. We are also aware that a Ms Nimfa Farrell, Mr Farrell's spouse, has been appointed as a staffer in Treasurer Koutsantonis's office. Again, I think in the interests of transparency and accountability, Mr Koutsantonis should indicate what the particular position in his office is, as well as the salary and remuneration arrangements for that particular position.

There are many more examples, Mr President, as I am sure with your background you would be well aware within the Labor Party, where jobs are being given to the boys and the girls and the Labor mates within the labour movement. Whilst the state is going backwards, whilst our unemployment rate continues to soar, sadly rather than tackling the issues—and we see with the Northern Economic Plan today minister Maher has not even resolved the guidelines for the $10 million Small Business Development Plan—all these ministers and all the government members seem to be concerned about is trying to find a cushy job for their Labor mates either in the Public Service or in ministerial offices.

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