There is no doubt that if you are a ‘Labor mate’ or a part of the broader ‘Labor family’ such as a union boss then your chances of being appointed are significantly increased.
Clearly union bosses such as Peter Malinauskas,Janet Giles and Wayne Hanson have all been favoured by the Labor Government with lucrative appointments to ‘plum’ positions.
The fact that Mr.Malinauskas is the boss of the SDA which largely controls the Labor Party obviously was a factor in his appointment.
Some of the appointments could be defended on the basis of merit or knowledge of the particular area-Greg Crafter is highly regarded by many who work with him and Ann Levy’s professional background would be useful in her job as Chair of the Genetically Modified Crop Advisory Committee.
However in many other cases the appointees have little knowledge of, or connection with the Board to which they have been appointed.
The interests of the taxpayers of SA will only be properly protected if merit is the over riding consideration for appointments to Government boards and committees.