The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (16:51): I have to say that that is probably the limpest and lamest defence of a minister of the Crown that I have ever heard, but I am not surprised, coming from the Hon. Mr Finnigan. He probably had a good hard look at the evidence, which was quite damning in…
DetailsShadow Minister for Finance Rob Lucas said today that all members of the Statutory Authorities Review Committee had reported they were ‘appalled’ at some of the evidence given to an inquiry into the operation of the Rann Government’s Office of the Public Trustee. Mr Lucas said that Labor, Liberal and Independent MLCs all agreed on…
DetailsA Parliamentary Committee had recommended independent vetting of Premier Mike Rann’s government advertising. The Select Committee on Taxpayer Funded Government Advertising Campaigns proposed that the Auditor General investigate proposed campaigns and their compliance with government advertising guidelines. “The Liberal Opposition has committed to ending Mr Rann’s abuse of government advertising by proposing to slash expenditure…
DetailsThe Rann Government had been forced to reveal that there had been a massive blowout in the annual payment for the six supposed “Super Schools” from the original estimate of $13 million per year to $27 million per year. “The Rann Government revealed originally the estimated annual payment of $13 million for the “Super Schools”…
DetailsThe Rann Government had estimated it would spend at least $46 million on consultants and staff costs for three public-private partnership projects. “When an estimated compensation bill of about $10 million for not proceeding with the prisons PPP is also included, the total would be at least $56 million,” Shadow Minister for Finance Rob Lucas…
DetailsThe Rann Government’s attempt today to gloss over the “missing USB scandal” had left many unanswered questions. “Mr Foley’s claim today that most of the documents on the missing USB “would be of little value to bidders” is completely contrary to evidence given to parliamentary committees by senior Treasury and Health officers,” Shadow Minister for…
DetailsThe Hon. R.I. LUCAS (16:04): I move: That the report on the operations of the committee, 2008-09, be noted. In moving this motion, I intend to speak relatively briefly. At the outset, I thank the members of the committee for what has been a rigorous work program over the past 12 months, and I thank…
DetailsEvidence given to the Legislative Council Budget and Finance Committee confirmed that after only three months the Health Department was facing another budget blowout of about $80 million. “Under Treasurer Jim Wright told the Committee that the regular monthly monitoring meetings between the Treasury and Health Departments had been told that Health’s estimate of the…
DetailsFamilies on waiting lists for surgery in our hospitals would be outraged when they see the thousands of taxpayer dollars being wasted on lunches and dinners for public servants earning more than $300,000 per annum. “Some of these expenses are outrageous, unreasonable and unacceptable,” Shadow Minister for Finance Rob Lucas said today. “However, the problem…
DetailsThe Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:30): The past two weeks in South Australian politics have been dominated by the events surrounding Premier Mike Rann and his alleged assault two weeks ago. My experience with these types of issues in the past is that generally it is not the issue itself that causes the most grief: it…
DetailsEvidence given to a Parliamentary Committee revealed there had been a massive $120 million blowout in the Health Department’s annual budget. Dr Tony Sherbon, Health Department CEO, revealed to the Legislative Council Budget and Finance Committee that budget overspends for 2008-09 totalled $120 million. “Unfortunately for South Australian taxpayers, the Rann Government’s Health Department has…
DetailsPremier Mike Rann must introduce new controls of accountability on Ministers’ extravagant spending on overseas and interstate travel and entertainment. “As a first step Ministers should be required to provide details of total costs, purpose and results of each overseas and certain interstate trips on the government website,” Shadow Minister for Finance Rob Lucas said…
DetailsExtravagant and unreasonable travel and entertainment expenses by Rann Government Ministers showed how arrogant and out of touch Premier Rann and Treasurer Foley had become. “At a time when public servants’ wage rises are being restricted to 2.5 per cent and services and programmes are being cut across the board, how can Mr Rann and…
DetailsIt was hard to believe claims by some Rann Government Ministers that there were no records of guests they took at taxpayers’ expense to the Government Corporate Box at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. “Documents released under Freedom of Information (see attached) showed Minister Pat Conlon and then Minister Steph Key invited guests to a performance…
DetailsPremier Mike Rann had again changed his defence in the debate over conflict of interest allegations against him. In a statement released late last week, Mr Rann now says the Deputy Crown Solicitor had previously advised that the simple fact that an organisation was located in a Minister’s electorate does not give rise to a…
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