Today is the last day of Parliament for 2010 I thought it would be fitting to reflect on the year that was.

 

Since winning the state election in March the Rann Labor Government has proven to be tired, lazy and out of touch. They have failed to set a strong reformist agenda and they appear to have no vision for South Australia’s future.

 

Indeed, they kicked the year off by announcing the Parliament would sit for the lowest number of days of any Parliament in the nation. Over the past 14 months the SA Parliament has only sat for 32 days  and on the 26th October they even ran out of business to debate and were forced suspend the Parliament before lunch time. It is a disgrace. South Australians deserve a Parliament that is open and accountable and they need a government that is driving a strong, exciting agenda with a fresh vision for South Australia.

 

The first weeks after the election saw the Liberals reveal that Treasurer Foley had misled voters about both the true cost of the Adelaide Oval redevelopment and the proposed hospital on the old rail yards. It became increasingly apparent that the government had hastily cobbled together a policy for Adelaide Oval and as a result we have seen cost blow out after cost blow out. I will continue to call on Premier Rann to abandon the plans to redevelop Adelaide Oval in favour of the Liberal Party’s policy to revitalise the old Royal Adelaide Hospital and build a stand alone stadium on the old rail yards site. Our plan is more sensible and much more financially responsible.

 

The blow outs kept on coming as the year went on with the Opposition revealing that the cost of the desalination plant had blown out to $2.2 billion. While we are still waiting for the final cost of the new RAH we already know they are $100 million over the original commitment they made to the public.

 

In early spring the State Liberals took a strong stance against mining in Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary. Whilst we are very supportive of mining in this state, we will reject any proposal by the Government, now or in the future, to water down the environmental protection which exists over the sanctuary currently. To date the Government has not made a decision on Arkaroola. They need to come clean and reveal their decision to the public.

 

On September 16th, months after it was due, the Rann Labor Government handed down the state budget. It was a hallmark of their economic mismanagement. While New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia are all running a surplus, South Australia, already the highest taxed State in the nation is a staggering $389 million in deficit for 2010-11. The state debt, over four years, will have reached $7.5 billion and will cost taxpayers almost $2 million PER DAY in interest.

 

Since the budget was delivered we have seen record numbers of South Australians protesting on the steps of Parliament. Public servants rallied against savage job cuts, community members protested and forced the government to overturn their decision to close the Parks Community Centre and people have travelled from the country to fight the funding cuts to our community hospitals. This week more than a thousand industry and community members from the South East will travel to Adelaide to protest the forward selling of the state’s timber forests. The Rann Labor Government plans to sell more than 100 years worth of timber rotations, short changing the South Australian economy and decimating communities in the South East.

 

While they’ve cut jobs and slashed services, this budget showed the Rann Labor Government continues to needlessly waste money. The latest example saw millions of dollars spent on special relationship with the Puglia region in Italy while $200,000 funding for the Council of International Trade and Commerce South Australia was slashed- depriving the many member chambers of the support they need to grow our exports.

 

While the Rann Labor Government has shut the public out of the decision making process, failed to consult and misled South Australians on key commitments, the Liberals have been out talking to people. We have held community cabinets in Port Lincoln and Roxby Downs. I have run community crime and safety meetings in every corner of metropolitan Adelaide and visited communities that have been affected by the Government’s bad decisions in Renmark, Keith, Inverbrackie and Mt Gambier, just to name a few.

 

The Rann Labor Government is embroiled in internal divisions and too busy focussing on leadership tensions to concentrate on running the State. By contrast the SA Liberal team is looking forward to facing 2011 with vigour and commitment. We are determined to hold this government to account and to keep talking to South Australians about the issues that affect them. While our calls for Independent Commission Against Corruption have fallen on the deaf ears of this lazy arrogant government so far, we will continue to fight for accountability, transparency and openness in government.

 

We believe South Australians deserve better.