Premier Weatherill must reveal the cost to taxpayers of the decision to axe 11 senior government executives in his Department. Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said with several of the executives being paid more than $200,000 per year, individual payouts including termination payments and accrued recreation and long service leave could be more than $400,000. One…
DetailsPremier Weatherill and Treasurer Koutsantonis should now be forced to provide evidence to support their claimed key reason for their decision not to go to a competitive tender at Gillman. Mr Weatherill and Mr Koutsantonis have argued the Government couldn’t go to competitive tender because Adelaide Capital Partners would have withdrawn their offer. On ABC…
DetailsTreasurer Koutsantonis has been left red faced by having to admit his bizarre and unrealistic revenue assumptions he included in this year’s budget papers were wrong. When the budget was released many critics including Julie Novak from the IPA and Adjunct Professor of Economics Richard Blandy attacked Mr Koutsantonis’s revenue estimates as misleading, fraudulent and…
DetailsThe Auditor-General has stated that the submission presented to Cabinet regarding the Gillman land deal signed by Premier Weatherill and then Minister for Urban Development Tom Koutsantonis was “misleading”. The Auditor-General’s Report says that the Renewal SA Board expected that Cabinet would be advised by the Minister that the Board had advised the Minister to…
DetailsThe Supreme Court has found that the Weatherill Labor Government’s decision to sell 400ha of land at Gillman without going to tender was “irrational”. On 23 December 2013, the State Government announced it had signed an agreement with Adelaide Capital Partners (ACP) to sell 400Ha of the former Multi-Function Polis site at Gillman. Following the…
DetailsTreasurer Koutsantonis’s decision in the MYBR to raid MAC reserves to prop up his budget will cost taxpayers at least $69 million, and possibly up to $128 million, in lost Federal funding. Under Treasurer Brett Rowse has given evidence to the Budget and Finance Committee that the Government believed its MAC privatisation would comply with…
DetailsShadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today Treasurer Koutsantonis had spent $162.6m last year to reduce the number of public servants but had actually ended up increasing the number significantly over the original budget. Treasury has confirmed that in 2013-14 the Government had given TVSPs (Targeted Voluntary Separation Packages) to 1479 public servants at a cost…
DetailsShadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today Premier Weatherill had deliberately delayed gazetting and releasing publicly salary increases for his spin doctors and staffers to avoid scrutiny and criticism. Yesterday’s Government Gazette (11 Dec) which includes massive increases in salary packages for some Ministerial spindoctors and staffers was finally released 5 months late and after Parliament…
Details“Former CEO of ESCOSA Dr.Paul Kerin has confirmed that prior to the last election the Under Treasurer told him the Weatherill Government was considering the privatisation of parts of SA Water,” said Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas. In evidence to the Budget and Finance Committee Dr.Kerin was asked whether he was aware KPMG had been appointed…
DetailsShadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today the former CEO of ESCOSA Dr. Paul Kerin had slammed the behaviour and actions of former Treasurers Weatherill and Snelling and former Minister Caica in deliberately causing high water prices in SA. “In evidence to the Budget and Finance Committee Dr.Kerin said struggling SA families were being slugged hundreds…
DetailsShadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today that the Liberal Party joined everyone in hoping for the best for the injured worker and our thoughts are with his family, friends and fellow workers at this stage. Given the urgency and importance of the Safework SA investigation, we seek an assurance from the Government that Safework SA…
DetailsSpeaker of the House of Assembly Michael Atkinson’s cynical decision to hold by-elections in the state seats of Davenport and Fisher on different days has rebounded on the people of Davenport. “The Speaker’s decision to play party politics with his decision to hold the Fisher and Davenport elections on separate weekends has forced a January…
DetailsParliament’s Budget and Finance Committee today agreed to take evidence on the Weatherill Government’s water pricing policy and claims made by former ESCOSA Chief Executive Paul Kerin. Interestingly, even though Mr Koutsantonis previously indicated he looked forward to Labor Members being able to question Dr Kerin the Labor Government voted against the inquiry today. The…
DetailsShadow Minister for Industrial Relations, Rob Lucas, has cautiously welcomed the passage of the Return to Work Bill through Parliament yesterday. “The State Liberals are hopeful that this Bill will achieve its stated outcomes for the benefit of workers and employers alike,” said Mr Lucas. “For 12 years, Premier Jay Weatherill and the Labor Government…
DetailsState Parliament’s Budget and Finance Committee will investigate a series of damning allegations made by former ESCOSA chief executive Dr Paul Kerin regarding water pricing policy and actions of the Labor Government. “Dr Kerin has exposed the Weatherill Government’s price gouging on the water bills of South Australian families and businesses,” said Shadow Treasurer Rob…
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