The Australian Bureau of Statistics had released official economic growth figures showing South Australia has the second slowest growing economy in the nation, Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today. Economic growth in SA last year was only 2.2 per cent, which was worse than all other states and territories with the exception of New South…
DetailsThe Minister for Industry and Trade, Mr. Foley, had continued to ignore warnings from the Auditor General about significant accounting control deficiencies in his Department, Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today. This year’s Auditor General’s Report states: “…Staff who processed expenditure transactions on behalf of the Department did not have a signature register to verify…
DetailsA key industry group has given evidence to a Parliamentary committee that some investors were not investing in South Australia due, in part, to the high level of property taxes in SA, Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today. The Property Council gave evidence to the Legislative Council Select Committee on property taxes and stated: “As…
DetailsMinister for Health John Hill stood condemned for a financial scandal identified in the Auditor-General’s Report in which most of the decisions taken last year in the $2.5 billion Health Department were made without appropriate approval authority, Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today. “The Auditor-General’s Report this year highlighted that Treasurer’s Instructions had been breached…
DetailsShadow Minster for Police Rob Lucas today called for a review as for the reasons why SAPOL had estimated $51 million of traffic infringement notices issued in 2006 would not be collected this year. “During Estimates Committee hearings, Deputy Police Commissioner John White indicated that this year expiation notices to the value of $127 million…
DetailsTwo senior Rann Government Ministers have given conflicting answers in Parliament as to whether a $35 million Rann Government grant to Mitsubishi would have to be repaid if they closed their manufacturing plant in South Australia, Shadow Minister for Industry and Trade Rob Lucas said today. “In simple terms, either Treasurer Foley or Minister Holloway…
DetailsThe number of surplus employees under the Rann Government was now 275 and growing, and costing tax payers almost $20 million every year, Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today. “Minister Weatherill told Estimates Committee last week the number of surplus employees was now 275, rather than the previously announced 174 employees,” Mr. Lucas said. “These…
DetailsClaims by a Rundle Street nightclub owner that police have not responded to a complaint about counterfeit $50 notes needed to be investigated urgently, Shadow Police Minster Rob Lucas said today. “The nightclub owner has told me that three weeks ago a patron had passed two counterfeit $50 notes at his nightclub. The owner then…
DetailsThree specially trained drug detection dogs cannot do their job because the Rann Government has not introduced legislation to give SAPOL the necessary powers, Shadow Police Minister Rob Lucas said today. The three Labradors, Molly, Jay and Hooch, and their handlers are part of the Dog Operations Unit and were specially trained during June to…
DetailsThree specially trained drug detection dogs cannot do their job because the Rann Government has not introduced legislation to give SAPOL the necessary powers, Shadow Police Minister Rob Lucas said today. The three Labradors, Molly, Jay and Hooch, and their handlers are part of the Dog Operations Unit and were specially trained during June to…
DetailsThe Auditor General appears to have criticised unfairly the actions of the Police Commissioner and SAPOL in a recent DNA case, Shadow Police Minister Rob Lucas said today. “On September 6, 2006, when giving evidence to the ‘Stashed Cash’ Select Committee, the Auditor General launched a blistering attack on SAPOL for not cooperating with an…
DetailsShadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today that Estimates Committee questioning of the Treasurer showed that taxpayers will be paying $13 million per year to the private sector for the six proposed ‘super schools’. “Given that Mr Foley has estimated the total cost of the private sector investment will be $134 million, it seems a very…
DetailsShadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today that independent consultant reports and Treasury advice had raised doubts about the achievability of budget savings claimed by the Rann Government for its proposed Shared Services Centre. Mr. Lucas said the Shared Services Centre was the centrepiece of the government’s proposed savings programme and is proposed to centralise ‘back…
DetailsShadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today that Parliament’s Estimates Committee’s over the next week will try to find the details of $695 million in cuts to programmes and services announced in the September budget. “The budget is a little like an iceberg, because the Rann Government has only included the details of about 10 per…
DetailsShadow Police Minister Rob Lucas said today Premier Rann’s supposed new announcement of a police plane had been first announced almost three years ago and had been re-announced at least a half dozen times! Premier Rann told the Annual General Meeting of the Police Association today that he was pleased to be making a ‘new…
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