The Weatherill Government has lost control of the budget and doesn’t know exactly how many public servants it is employing, Shadow Finance Minister Rob Lucas said today. The South Australian Public Sector Workforce Information Summary Report provides information about the structure, size and composition of the South Australian public sector workforce, but the most recent…
Details$264 million in ex gratia tax relief was provided to hundreds of companies and individuals by former Treasurer Kevin Foley from 2002-2011, documents released under Freedom of Information reveal. Even when relief provided under schemes such as Payroll Tax Trainee Wage Rebate, Payroll Tax Exporters Rebate and Drought Relief are excluded from the numbers, total…
DetailsThe Liberal Opposition will move amendments to Labor‟s flawed work safety legislation to try to protect the position of volunteers, Shadow Industrial Relations Minister Rob Lucas said today. National work safety expert Ken Phillips has confirmed Labor‟s new laws will reclassify millions of volunteers as workers, who could now be prosecuted and fined. Mr Phillips…
DetailsAn increase in the number of unanswered parliamentary questions on notice demonstrates the Labor Government is just as secretive and unaccountable under Premier Weatherill as former Premier Mike Rann. As at the end of this year, the Labor Government has refused to answer 3158 questions on notice, with the oldest dating back to July 2002…
DetailsAn increase in the number of unanswered parliamentary questions on notice demonstrates the Labor Government is just as secretive and unaccountable under Premier Weatherill as former Premier Mike Rann. As at the end of this year, the Labor Government has refused to answer 3158 questions on notice, with the oldest dating back to July 2002…
DetailsThe latest saga in the Labor Government’s Shared Services debacle has resulted in many highly paid staff being left with nothing to do. “Sadly Labor’s handling of Shared Services has become so laughable it almost resembles a script for an episode of Yes Minister,” Shadow Finance Minister Rob Lucas said. “In the Mid-Year Budget Review…
DetailsPIRSA has appointed a private investigator to help investigate the ‘Cartridgegate’ scandal in its department, it was revealed to the Legislative Council Budget and Finance Committee today. The private investigator is Peter Warner, a former police officer who served in the South Australian and Northern Territory police forces, and runs the private investigation firm Warner…
DetailsTasmania is the latest state to oppose controversial ‘harmonised’ Work, Health and Safety laws commencing on 1 January 2012. Yesterday, the Tasmanian Legislative Council voted 11-3 to amend the Work, Health and Safety Bill to delay commencement until 1 January 2013. The Bill was sent back to the House of Assembly for further debate in…
DetailsThe Liberal Opposition will move this week to prevent the Government’s controversial Work, Health and Safety legislation from commencing on 1 January 2012. The South Australian Government has announced it wants debate on the Work, Health and Safety Bill completed this week to enable the law to commence at the start of next year. Shadow…
DetailsThe Labor Government’s handling of the Freedom of Information process on ‘Cartridgegate’ shows it is just as secretive and unaccountable under Jay Weatherill as Mike Rann. “Nine weeks after first lodging an FOI request for documents on ‘Cartridgegate’ the Weatherill Government has finally responded by refusing access to all 423 documents relevant to the application,”…
DetailsPremier Weatherill needs to explain why the Labor Government gave a contract extension to Spotless worth more than $100 million over three years without going to competitive tender, Shadow Finance Minister Rob Lucas said today. Evidence given to the Legislative Council Budget and Finance Committee this week by Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure Chief…
DetailsFurther details on the extent of the ‘Cartridgegate’ scandal were released by Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure Chief Executive Rod Hook today. Mr Hook told the Legislative Council Budget and Finance Committee they had uncovered “two instances” of printer cartridge rorting in the Department. Mr Hook indicated that incidents within Services SA and the…
DetailsTreasurer Snelling has acknowledged what the Liberal Opposition has known for some time now – SA Health is in financial crisis. The Liberal Opposition asked Mr Snelling yesterday to confirm that, at the end of the 2010-11 financial year, private consultants PKF had to be appointed to fix a significant financial mess in SA Health.…
DetailsShadow Finance Minister Rob Lucas has written to the Auditor-General advising him he believes senior Treasury officers concealed the fact they had been aware of ‘Cartridgegate’ abuses for almost 18 months. “Information provided to the Liberal Party indicates that senior Treasury officers were aware of significant abuses by Treasury officers as long ago as June/July…
DetailsThe Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:28): I rise to speak about government appointments. Firstly, I guess every cloud has its silver lining, and I join with you, Mr President, I am sure, in congratulating the Hon. Mr Gazzola on the political X Lotto he has just won, having just been appointed, I understand, to two further…
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