There were further fiery exchanges between the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Rann Government at today’s hearing of the Legislative Council inquiry into the Atkinson/Ashbourne affair, according to Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas. “Rann Government Minister Paul Holloway tried to further antagonise Mr Stephen Pallaras QC through a series of questions and statements which…
DetailsShadow Treasurer Rob Lucas has written to the Auditor-General requesting an urgent investigation of Rann Government actions in concealing expenditure on consultants. “Over the last three years the Rann Government has taken action in a number of ways to avoid accountability and prevent details of actual expenditure on consultants from being publicly revealed,” Mr Lucas…
DetailsStunning evidence from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to the Atkinson-Ashbourne inquiry helps explain why Mike Rann and his Ministers have tried to cover up the affair right from the start, according to Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas. “Mr Stephen Pallaras today revealed that he believes Mike Rann’s Senior Legal Adviser, Mr Nick Alexandrides, made…
DetailsShadow Treasurer Rob Lucas has welcomed the decision today of the Parliament’s Upper House to establish a Parliamentary inquiry into the collection of property taxes, and what are widely considered to be inequities in the current system. Mr Lucas moved in March for the Legislative Council to establish a Select Committee to inquire into all…
DetailsThe State Government will reap an extra $20 million in poker machine revenue each year until 2006-07 despite the ‘window-dressing’ gaming machine buy-back which starts today, Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said. Figures from the State Budget reveal poker machine intake will rise from $302m in 2004-05 to about $344m in 2006-07. Mr Lucas said the…
DetailsMedia Mike Rann is ducking for cover at a time he needs to answer questions about the behaviour of one of his senior advisers in relation to the Premier’s appearance at the Ashbourne trial, Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today. “We now know that the DPP Mr Pallaras has stated that this issue is of…
DetailsLiberal Upper House Leader Rob Lucas has called on Premier Mike Rann to explain why one of his senior advisers: ‘behaved in a verbally aggressive and intimidating manner with a DPP officer on the issue of Premier Rann’s appearance at the Ashbourne trial’. Hansard June 30 2005. Mr Lucas told Parliament today that staff from…
DetailsThe Rann Government has conceded for the first time that total job losses from the Mitsubishi downsizing will be at least 3,600 jobs, according to Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas. “In Question Time today, senior Minister Paul Holloway revealed that the government believed the 2,000 direct jobs remaining at Mitsubishi sustained a total of 6,000 direct…
DetailsLabor Treasurer Kevin Foley could not rule out further blowouts in the costs of the Port River Bridges project in Budget Estimates hearings today, according to Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas. “Mr Foley could provide no satisfactory answer as to why the cost of the project – including the opening bridges – had actually blown out…
DetailsShadow Treasurer Rob Lucas today described as unbelievable Rann Government decisions to spend $566,000 on consultancies led by a man continually attacked by Kevin Foley as practicing ‘voodoo economics’. “Last year Kevin Foley launched a series of attacks on local consultant and researcher John Spoehr and on the quality of the work and analysis undertaken…
DetailsShadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today this week’s budget estimates committee process would be the last major opportunity prior to the election to probe Rann Government waste and election slush funds totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. Detailed analysis of budget papers shows three separate Treasurer’s contingency lines totaling $230m for 2005-06 compared to only…
DetailsSouth Australian taxpayers will not be bought off by a cynical pre-election handout after three years of being ripped off by the highest taxing government in South Australia’s history, according to Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas. “Mr Foley claims supposedly the biggest ever tax cuts this year,” Mr Lucas said today. “But this has only occurred…
DetailsQ. What do you do when your budget surplus is going to turn into a budget deficit? A. Move the fiscal goal posts! Just change the definition of a budget deficit and magically turn it back into a surplus! Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today that Kevin Foley’s claimed future budget surpluses were actually deficits…
DetailsMembers of the media, in considering today’s budget numbers, should be aware of significant errors by Kevin Foley in each of his three budgets, according to Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas. “For example, in the 2003-04 budget papers Mr Foley actually made an error of $794 million in the estimate of total revenue in the State…
DetailsThousands of South Australian small businesses are being forced to pay payroll tax while similar businesses in all other states are payroll tax-free, according to Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas. “The payroll threshold in South Australia below which small businesses pay no payroll tax is the lowest of all states and territories in Australia,” Mr Lucas…
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