Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-09-24 Daily Xml

Contents

Coronavirus, Travel

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (14:36): Thank you, Mr President. Does the minister not see that Mr McDowell is also a member of the state Transition Committee and that perhaps could be a perceived conflict of interest?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:36): As I said, Mr McDowell is not undertaking the review himself—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —is my understanding. I think we are using the term 'conflict of interest' a bit broadly there anyway. All of us have an interest in government departments undertaking continuous improvement, and we have seen that—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: We have seen that in the context of COVID-19 in relation to the—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Hunter and the Hon. Clare Scriven are out of order. Now I want to hear the minister.

The Hon. K.J. Maher: The minister is covering up again.

The PRESIDENT: I would like to listen to him.

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: We have seen that in the context of the hotel quarantine review initiated by the federal government. We have seen that in the context of the work done within the South Australian government in relation to—

There being a technical disturbance:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I'm sorry, I'm not sure what I need to do to avoid that.

The Hon. K.J. Maher: Tell the truth.

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: That's a dad joke.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: It's not a dad joke: it's a childish interjection.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I want to hear the minister conclude his answer.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: As I said, it is not new practice. We have right through this pandemic been undertaking a number of reviews—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: Not into yourselves. This looks crook.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Sorry, they have been into ourselves. We have had—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —SA government officers looking at SA government processes to see how they can be improved.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Is this bizarre? Is the opposition really suggesting—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Mr Hunter!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —it's inappropriate for somebody within the South Australian government to suggest how the South Australian government can improve its processes? Well, that's another indication about why they were such a hopeless government for 16 years.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Bourke has the call.