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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
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Adjournment Debate

Valedictories

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (17:02): I move:

That the council at its rising adjourn until Tuesday 2 February 2021.

In moving the adjournment motion, it is the opportunity for us to wish everyone well and thank everyone, and I will do so briefly on behalf of government members. Can I firstly thank you, the President, and all the table staff who ably assist you in the task that confronts you. Particularly for the table staff, the challenges of managing through the global pandemic has meant many new challenges, which many of us would never have contemplated: committees that needed to have videoconferencing or whatever else it is.

All sorts of new skills have been learnt. The chamber has proved to be flexible, agile and adaptable in terms of divisions and not closing doors and all the sorts of innovations that have had to be developed to try to be as COVID-safe as possible. For all those reasons, we thank you, but in particular the staff who assist you ably through all of this process. Included in that, of course, are the messengers who assist us in this chamber as well.

I thank the Leader of the Opposition and the two whips, and the crossbench leaders and whips, for their willingness to generally work through, again, the challenges that COVID-19 has brought upon us in terms of sitting schedules, legislation that in the early days was being dropped on us from a great height at very short notice and all those challenges that none of us have ever seen before, frankly. We have all had to adapt and cooperate. There were individual members who, because of vulnerability, had to absent themselves from the chamber for periods of time. All of those issues have had to be catered for. I think, by and large, they have been catered for in good spirit, good cheer, and in a spirit of cooperation.

Can I thank members because today is a very good example of where proceedings went much more quickly this morning than I anticipated. Today, we processed the Health Care (Governance) Amendment Bill, the Appropriation Bill, the Evidence (Vulnerable Witnesses) Amendment Bill and the South Australian Employment Tribunal (Costs) Amendment Bill. All of those bills have been processed, and on behalf of the Attorney-General I discharged the lobbyists bill which had been languishing for some considerable period of time on the Notice Paper.

There are still three pieces of legislation which will require—there are a number of new ones, of course—significant debate in February: the electoral bill, the local government review bill, which is another attempt at local government review, and the correctional services bill. We were going to endeavour to see if we could process the correctional services bill together with the others today, but I am advised that our colleagues in the assembly will be gone in a relative few minutes and the prospects of getting the bill through the committee stage in the next 25 minutes I am advised are relatively slim, if I can use an understated phrase. Our colleagues in the assembly are not going to be here next week and, therefore, we will return to debating that particular issue in February when we return.

Can I also thank all of the other staff in Parliament House: the Hansard staff, the catering staff, parliamentary services, the library, all of the staff in Parliament House who assisted members in (a) coping with the global pandemic and (b) in all of the normal tasks that they undertake on our behalf in terms of making our job easier.

With that, on behalf of government members I wish all of the staff in Parliament House and all the members of the chamber a happy and healthy Christmas season. We look forward to re-engaging through the committees which will continue to sit on occasions in this period leading up to February, but then re-engaging when the parliament recommences in the first week of February.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (17:07): I wish to break with tradition and indicate that I oppose the adjournment motion. I do so for the reasons that the Hon. Rob Lucas just outlined, in that we are not debating the correctional services bill today. This is a bill that precedes not just the current minister in this Marshall Liberal government but originally had the content of it with the previous minister, Minister Malinauskas. The reason I am so outraged that we are not debating this bill today, which has now languished, is because a very important part of that bill is the provision that prison officers would have to comply with the direction of the chief executive of Corrections.

As members would know, that was something that I was gravely concerned about with the death of Wayne Fella Morrison, and it came to light and to the fore that this was utterly inadequate. This is a year where we have just seen a pandemic, but we also have a pandemic of racism, and we know that Aboriginal people are the most incarcerated people in the world. We just had Commissioner Roger Thomas in the other place give those first steps towards a voice in parliament but this parliament does not even make the time to ensure the basic human rights and the basic expectations that we should be affording people in correctional services—that very important issue that this government has finally brought to this place and that three ministers have now had carriage of—will be enacted.

I was sitting here today waiting to debate that bill, only to be told that the Labor Party thinks it will take too long. I have to say it has already taken a very long time. It has already taken years for the content of this bill to make this place. There were also amendments that the Greens had put up for the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture which we believed had the support of the crossbench and the government to be implemented.

For those who say that black lives matter and those who say that they care about Aboriginal affairs to say that they do not have the time in these last minutes on the last day of parliament this year to debate the correctional services bill, something that has now languished not just this year but in previous years, is utterly contemptible. Therefore, I will be opposing the adjournment.

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL (17:10): I acknowledge the absolute passion that my colleague, the Hon. Tammy Franks, has for this place to do its job as thoroughly as possible.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL: I do share her disappointment that this important piece of legislation is not going to be dealt with today, but I also want to make some more general reflections on the year that we have had in parliament. There is no doubt that this has been a year like no other. The COVID pandemic has hit everyone hard. I think it is probably fair to say that most of us feel grateful that we have been through the pandemic in a country like Australia, and in a state like South Australia, where civil society is generally strong enough for public health measures to be given the best possible chance to work.

COVID has been hard but it has been harder in other places. That might seem like cold comfort to those who have lost their jobs or their livelihoods, and I do not mean it in that way at all. We really do need to make sure that in a wealthy First World country like Australia, and in South Australia, people do not fall through the cracks.

As the Leader of the Government said in his adjournment contribution, in parliament we have adapted our practices, and I think we have also curtailed some time-honoured processes of accountability—some processes that, in the normal course of events, I could not have imagined we would voluntarily relinquish. These are measures that enable us to do our jobs as members of parliament and as members of the upper house of parliament in holding the government to account.

I think the one word that sums up how parliament has managed COVID-19 is probably 'trust'. We have trusted while certain processes have been truncated, shortcuts have been put in place and unprecedented power has been given to officials—not just elected officials and ministers but also unelected officials as well. So it has been a remarkable year and, like other members, I hope that next year we can put COVID behind us and that the normal process of legislating for the good order of the people of South Australia can be put back in place.

I would like to briefly take the opportunity to thank my parliamentary team: Cate Mussared, my Chief of Staff; our office manager, Emily Bird; our junior trainee, Leif Gerhardy; and my casual administrative and research staff, Alice Mussared, Matt Trainor and James Murphy.

I join with the Leader of the Government in thanking you, Mr President, and also the parliamentary officers, Chris Schwarz and Guy Dickson. I also thank their hardworking team who help us so much in our work here. I am always nervous that I will forget names, but thanks to Leslie, Anthony, Emma, Karen, Mario, Todd, Charles and Kate—I think have everyone there.

I would like to thank the building attendants; the catering division, who feed us so well; the Parliament Research Library, who answer our difficult questions; and parliamentary counsel, who make us sound better than we are. I know everyone says that every year, but they do. Sorry, that was Hansard. Hansard make us sound better. Parliamentary counsel make us sound learned in the way they draft our bills. I thank the security team, who keep us safe and usually have a friendly smile as we arrive each day.

Last but not least, I give my thanks to my parliamentary colleagues and their staff. I was going to say that it has been a pleasure to work with you all this year, but it is a mixture of pleasure and pain. However, I reckon that pleasure has outweighed pain most of the time.

Where it has been painful, it has at least been professional. I think that is the best that we can hope for where you have a contest of ideas and you have people who disagree. We behave relatively well most of the time towards each other, whether we agree or disagree. Whenever we do adjourn to, I look forward to continuing to work with you all. I wish people a very restful break over the holiday season.

The Hon. C. BONAROS (17:15): I echo the sentiments expressed by all members just now. Can I just say at the outset that I can completely appreciate the frustration the Hon. Tammy Franks has just described. If you are on the crossbench in particular, you know that a great deal of work goes into preparing for these debates.

We have staff and teams who do an enormous amount of work behind the scenes, as do all members, preparing for these things. I appreciate that we all came here today thinking that this is something we would be dealing with, and we did not know that we were not going to be dealing with this, and so I am saddened that that has put a dampener on the end of today.

On a more positive note, I would like to say that in my view this is not the year to get anything you want, it is not the year to get everything you want, but it is absolutely the year to appreciate everything you have. We in SA have a lot to be grateful for because, as we are acutely aware, no matter the challenges that we all may have faced in this place—personally, professionally, whatever they may be—there are people around the world who have and continue to be confronted with much more challenging times in the face of this pandemic.

I, for one, am extremely grateful for the way that South Australia as a state has dealt with this pandemic and the efforts that have been made to keep us and our families all safe. I am extremely grateful for all those individuals involved, from SA Health and everywhere else, and the role they have played in that. I just want to place that on the record.

Like other honourable remembers, I would also like to thank everybody here who makes coming to this place possible every day and who makes it an enjoyable experience on days when you do not necessarily feel like being here. My thanks to the library team, led by John Weste, whose passion for shoes, I think it is fair to say, is equal to mine. To Hansard, who are ever so patient with us, the scribbled notes and everything that we give you and the notes that we do not give you in time, we are extremely grateful, as Mark said, for making us sound a lot more articulate than we often are when speaking on our feet.

My thanks also to the building attendants and security personnel, the catering division, the messengers and the Clerks, the table staff, Mario, Todd, Karen and Charles—who have I missed in that team, I am not sure, but I know I have missed somebody—everybody who makes our jobs easier. Not only that, they make coming here a more enjoyable experience.

One thing I love most about this place is the chats I have with staff around the building in the corridors that do not necessarily have anything to do with the role that we play here as members, but are just getting to know people and learning about their lives. I thank parliamentary counsel, who I think it is fair to say make us all look much more clever than we actually are. All these people go above and beyond each and every day to make our jobs easier and to make our jobs possible. I am extremely grateful for everything they do for us.

In closing, it would be remiss of me not to take this opportunity, with your indulgence, Mr President, to give a big thank you to Nicky and Karen, and a big happy birthday to Nicky in our Blue Room. She is actually celebrating her birthday today, so happy birthday, Nicky. With those words, like the Treasurer, I take this opportunity to wish everybody, all the staff, all the members, all the staff in the building, our members' staff officers who we work closely with, a happy and safe Christmas and holiday season and a brighter year ahead.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (17:19): I thank you, Mr President, for your leadership of this chamber in a year when there has been so much uncertainty and change. It has been comforting to end this year with a couple of familiar constants: the Richmond Tigers as premiers and Dustin Martin as the reigning Norm Smith medallist.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: Where's your yellow and black tie?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I had it on on Tuesday. Mr President, thank you for presiding fairly over us for part of this year, and I acknowledge the many other presidents we have served under during other parts of this year.

The Hon. S.G. Wade: They come and they go.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Well, you know when daylight saving starts and finishes that you change your fire alarm batteries, and you change the President of the Legislative Council; I think that has been well recognised.

I thank the Leader of the Government in this place, the Hon. Rob Lucas, whose every suggestion about what we might do raises suspicion about what is he up to and what is he trying to pull over us? However, he is actually trying to make the place work productively, but we will still treat every suggestion with the suspicion it deserves.

I thank the whips in this chamber: the Government Whip and the Opposition Whip, the Hon. Ian Hunter, who hums show tunes at a much greater pace than the Hon. Dennis Hood, so he has some catching up to do. I thank the Hon. David Ridgway, and I think everyone in this chamber is poorer for his decision not to be a minister anymore. Without him answering government questions, none of us know which are the best country pubs to stop at or which are the best entrees served up at award nights. Without him answering these Dorothy Dixers we are all much, much the poorer.

I would like to thank all the members of parliament in this place. I would like to thank the Clerk; Mr Black Rod, Guy; Leslie, Anthony and Emma; to Super Mario, Karen and Charles; to—

An honourable member: Todd.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: —Todd and Kate; and to the staff in my office: to Hicksy, to Chris, to Craig, to Margaret, to Elana. I associate myself with the happy birthday wishes. To Ben in the parliamentary cellar—among people from all walks of life I think those who control wine have had a very important role in most people's lives during COVID. I thank building services; John Weste and his amazing shoes, as is often mentioned; the corporate and financial services folk, who rarely are seen but the place grinds to a halt without them; PNSG, who have had their work cut out for them as people try to work remotely and call them 17 times a day to get told where the on button on the computer is.

I thank Hansard, the wonderful people who know what we mean when we say it, then we say it and they record it and then they do it—and that will be interesting to try to get down; to the protective security staff, who have had a very important role this year, to the old ones and new ones. Importantly, I also thank Paul and the whole cleaning crew in this place, who work exceptionally hard and who, when we go home at 1.30 or any time of the day, are still here making sure that our workplace is a safe place. To all those people, thank you.

This time last year, I had the remarkable privilege of spending a couple of months on the hot red dirt in the centre of Australia rather than on the red benches of this chamber. I had plenty of time to reflect on just how privileged we are to do what we do but also just how much of what we do is supported by so many other people. So thank you to all who have supported everyone in here to do what they do.

The PRESIDENT (17:23): I would like to make a few remarks, and I thank the leaders and the crossbench representatives for their comments. I think their comments about all the people who support us are well appreciated and are certainly appreciated by me.

As a former member of the whips' union, I must always refer and defer to the work of the whips. I think until people have been a whip—and I know there is at least one leader in this place who was a whip—the whips' work is always underestimated, and I take my hat off to the way in which the whips have worked since I have come into this role.

I also thank the number of people I have asked to fill in here for me, either in this chair or the one below. I appreciate that very much. I think it is of great benefit to this chamber to have more people who have had some experience in doing it, and there are a couple of others who have indicated an interest in it, and we will fulfil that in the new year.

I indicate my great thanks to the Clerk, the Black Rod and all the Legislative Council staff, particularly on my coming into this role just on 12 weeks ago. There have been many who have contributed and assisted me in that transition. I particularly pay tribute to Isabella, Tom and Adele in my office.

I make no apology for the fact that I think I am a great advocate for this chamber, and I have been very grateful for the assistance I have had in my short time in this role. I do put great importance on it being as fair as it can be for all members of this chamber. As was mentioned earlier, I know there will be times of disagreement, but I am pleased that in the last six or seven sitting days we have averaged just over 15 primary questions per day. That will not always be possible, but it is something that I want to continue, which means that a higher proportion of the people in this chamber get a chance to ask a question every day, and I am grateful for people's assistance in that work.

I also want to thank all the people who work in this building and in associated ways with us. As has been mentioned, Hansard, obviously the parliament library, catering, building services and other employees of the JPSC, parliamentary counsel, and the PSOs. As someone who has very recently benefitted from having a chauffeur, I would be criticised if I did not mention the very dutiful people who do those jobs for those of us who have the benefit of having a chauffeur.

In conclusion, I thank everybody. As has been said, it has been a difficult year for all of us. It is a very unusual thing to be able to sit in this chair and look through the interview room to see what is happening across the other side of North Terrace. We had one week where we did not do that, but we have all had to adjust this year, and I am grateful for the way in which we operate in this place. I always take great pride in the standards that we hold here, and I will devote myself to maintaining that. I wish everybody a happy and blessed Christmas, and every best wish for 2021.

At 17:28 the council adjourned until Tuesday 2 February 2021 at 14:15.

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