Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today that after a 14-month Freedom of Information battle Treasurer Koutsantonis had been forced to admit he had allowed two of his ministerial staffers to fly business class with him to Canada. In March 2015 Mr Koutsantonis took his media adviser and chief of staff to a four day Prospectors…
Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today another leak of a confidential Cabinet submission, this time one signed by Treasurer Koutsantonis, is a major embarrassment for Premier Weatherill and his government. This leaked submission was signed by Treasurer Koutsantonis on 4 August 2014 and related to the controversial issue of the resignation of the former Small…
Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today a leaked confidential Cabinet submission signed before the last election by Premier Weatherill conflicted with his public statements about the total cost to taxpayers of the Rolling Stones concert at Adelaide Oval. The leaked Cabinet submission signed by Mr Weatherill on 12 August 2013 included the recommendation that Cabinet…
Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today the Chief Executive of Renewal SA (RSA) John Hanlon had revealed massive multimillion dollar losses and financial write downs on key government development projects. Mr Hanlon told the Legislative Council Budget and Finance Committee that RSA had lost $153 million last year following losses of $123 million in 14/15…
Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas today slammed Premier Weatherill and Treasurer Koutsantonis for planning to spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars in a belated attempt to sell their discredited State Budget. The Weatherill Labor Government has released a tender for a communications campaign for its 2016-17 State Budget. The tender says the budgeted costs just…
Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas today slammed the Weatherill Government and TAFE SA for financial mismanagement and incompetence that will cost taxpayers millions of dollars. TAFE SA confirmed today at a Budget and Finance Committee meeting that 40 staff had been declared as “excess” and some of those staff had been excess for up to 5-6…
Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today Treasurer Koutsantonis had been caught out in a series of embarrassing blunders trying to defend his self-proclaimed ‘God’s Work’ budget. Today Mr Koutsantonis claimed his supposed jobs budget last year had created 6000 new FULL TIME jobs. However the independent ABS (Publication 6202.0 – Labour Force, Australia, Table 7)…
Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas today accused the Weatherill Government of financial mismanagement and incompetence which led to SA missing out on an estimated $300-375m from the Federal Government’s Asset Recycle Bonus Fund. The Asset Recycle Bonus Fund paid a 15% bonus to the states for approved privatisations which were then spent on eligible new infrastructure…
Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today one major factor in South Australia having the worst unemployment rate in the nation had been a “litany of disasters” in Weatherill Government job programs. “The sad reality for unemployed South Australians is the Weatherill Government seems more intent on political spin and the publicity value of announcing new…
Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas today accused the Weatherill Government of an “obscene waste of money” after it was revealed they were spending $13.6 million on public servants to distribute $15 million in grants to businesses. Evidence to the Budget and Finance Committee this week has revealed the Weatherill Government is spending $4.9 million this year…