Tony Zappia
Makin · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“Based on the most recent polling, cost of living remains the most pressing issue for Australians, with around 75 per cent of people putting it at the top of the list of issues that matter to them. Another survey has 3.7 million Australians living in poverty, whilst 122,000 are homeless.”
“However, two issues that I believe directly contribute to Australian poverty are gambling and illicit drug use. According to the most recent figures, $32 billion is spent annually on gambling in Australia, with Australians rated as the biggest gamblers in the world per capita.”
“Some 3.9 million Australians recently used an illicit drug, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Both gambling losses and illicit drug use are increasing. In particular, online gambling has increased by over 60 per cent in recent years and cocaine use has surged by 69 per cent in a single 12-month period.”
“Gambling and drug addiction are both, and often together, directly the cause of poverty, homelessness, suicide, divorce, financial stress, crime and other social problems. I welcome the Albanese government's latest gambling reforms, which I believe will make a difference to Australian gambling rates.”
“Every day there is new technology out there—and, yes, sometimes it's expensive—that allows for much more efficient procedures. As a result of that, you would think that perhaps the costs of those procedures would come down. But that hasn't always necessarily been the case.”
“The referral is to a specialist that they don't question, and they have no idea whether they could possibly get the same treatment at a much better rate using another surgeon. It's not often that people shop around when it comes to medical treatment.”
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“My view is that this is only the beginning. It is only a matter of time before other imported everyday products are also affected as shipping lanes are disrupted. It's in effect the kind of situation we saw when COVID struck this country some five years ago, when products suddenly became scarce and supply chains became very difficult. I see that happening again. But it also highlights once again that, whilst here in Australia we are very far removed from even the Middle East war, the reality is that it still impacts us, as do other global events. And once again it highlights the need for Australia to rebuild its manufacturing base, something the Albanese government is committed to doing and something that I think is so important. We used to have a country where just about every product was manufactured here.”
“Global conflict, frequent devastating extreme weather events, global population growth, and irregular immigration, cost-of-living pressures, transnational crime, and even rapid technology changes are all causing uncertainty, insecurity and fear across society. Australia has again been caught up in another US initiated war, a war that has already cost the lives of hundreds of innocent people, including a reported 175 or so schoolchildren and staff at a school bombed in Iran and around 750,000 people in Lebanon who are now displaced. It is a war that many reasonable observers question the legitimacy of, a war that is already having serious consequences for the world, including here in Australia. We are seeing the effects on fuel prices and indeed the flow-on effects that that has here in Australia and indeed across the world.”
“I commend her for that, and I look forward to those changes being brought to this parliament so that we can indeed provide protection to whistleblowers when they need it. I also understand that one of the concerns we have in this country is that there is a plethora of laws that protect whistleblowers. Simply navigating through those laws is in itself a legal minefield. However, if we can improve that, I would certainly welcome it. The other matter I wish to speak about is the issue of the world as it stands today. We live in very difficult times. Global instability is at its highest level since World War II.”
“We now have the case of an ASIO whistleblower who is known by the pseudonym 'Marcus'. I recently wrote to the Attorney-General about this matter. Marcus claims to have information relating to the Bondi shootings. However, it appears that ASIO is attempting to discredit him. His story went to air last month on ABC's Four Corners . I hope Marcus is able to provide evidence to the Bondi royal commission. When others see whistleblowers poorly treated they remain silent, and the wrongdoing continues. This issue is integral to our democracy and to the Australian people's ability to have confidence in our institutions. We need to do better. I know that the Attorney-General is looking at strengthening the whistleblower laws.”
“The cases of ATO whistleblower Richard Boyle and ADF whistleblower David McBride are good examples of where acting in the public good can have devastating consequences for the whistleblower. The charging and prosecution of those two whistleblowers does not pass the pub test and highlights the need to further strengthen national whistleblowing laws. Recently at a parliamentary briefing Kieran Pender, the associate legal director of the Whistleblower Project—Australia's first specialist legal service for whistleblowers, based at the Human Rights Law Centre—reported that, since launching in mid 2023, the project has triaged more than 600 whistleblowing inquiries and provided advice to more than 200 whistleblowers. Those figures alone are concerning, and I suspect they are only the tip of the iceberg.”
“Maintaining civil standards is dependent on all Australians believing in those standards and calling out poor or bad behaviour when it occurs. Regrettably, all too often when wrongdoing or malpractice is called out, the person calling out the wrongdoing is attacked and becomes the target. It happens in the private sector, it happens in government departments, it happens in sporting bodies, in religious organisations and across so many other aspects of life. In recent years there have been widely reported examples of whistleblowers who have exposed serious wrongdoing and are then themselves punished, prosecuted and even jailed. The common tactic by both government and the private sector is to smear, threaten and even prosecute those people who expose malpractice.”
“Greek philosopher Aristotle is credited with saying that true democracy requires citizens to care about injustice to others. As a general observation, Australia could be considered a democratic country, and it prides itself on being so. The very simple Australian citizenship pledge specifically states, 'whose democratic beliefs I share'. Yet even Australian democracy is far from perfect. It has its flaws, and our laws do not always deliver justice. When laws do not deliver justice, confidence in government diminishes. When confidence in government diminishes, civil standards begin to crumble. In Australia, the notion of a fair go used to be central to our character, but it is a characteristic that is rapidly fading.”
“It is time to permanently resolve this issue in a satisfactory way to all parties and to end the charade that we go through every year in which local government representatives come to this place to lobby ahead of the May budget in order to secure another $20 million for the coming year.”
“As we heard from the House Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport's inquiry into local government sustainability, additional road funding is a priority for local governments throughout Australia. For the Local Government Association of South Australia, the road funding inequity has been a cause of grievance for now nearly three decades. It's not in the interest of the federal government or the Local Government Association of South Australia to have the uncertainty, the annual lobbying and the negotiations to continue. They are time-wasting and costly. Furthermore, local governments need to be able to plan with certainty.”
“Firstly, the funding is allocated on a year-by-year basis with no annual or long-term security. To highlight this point, under the last coalition government no payment was made for two years between 2015 and 2017. Secondly, the payment is not indexed for inflation. If it was, according to the Local Government Association of South Australia, the annual allocation would now be $31.8 million instead of $20 million. Because the allocation is not indexed, the Local Government Association of South Australia claims that $56 million has been lost over the past nine years, which is the period since the supplementary funding was reinstated after the coalition government pause of 2015-2017.”
“As I understand it, due to a historical trade-off that occurred years ago, South Australia has been receiving a lower annual share of federal-local government road funding than other states, both in terms of dollars per person and dollars per kilometre of roads. South Australia has nearly seven per cent of the national population and over 11 per cent of the national road network, yet it receives only 5.4 per cent of local government road funding, if you look at a per-person allocation, or 7.3 per cent, if you look at a per-kilometre allocation. To address the inequity, since 2004-05 South Australia has been receiving an annual supplementary local road funding allocation of $20 million. Whilst the supplementary top up is very welcome, the current arrangement is far from satisfactory.”
“It is a truth that cannot be ignored; a truth that these are not just statistics but 18,457 real lives of innocent children and babies who were violently killed as expendable casualties of conflict; and a truth that will not go away by tearing down a banner, because, unlike the lives of the children, the banner can and will be replaced.”
“Last week, Adelaide identity and businessman Sam Shahin organised the display of a public banner with the names and ages of the 18,457 children killed in Gaza between 7 October 2023 and 19 July 2025. More have died since then. The banner placed on North Terrace in Adelaide's CBD was a reproduction of an initiative by well-known US artist Phil Buehler titled Wall of Tears that is now exhibited in Brooklyn, New York. Within about a day of the Adelaide banner being installed, it was vandalised, torn down and removed. The Palestinian children killed and listed on the banner had done no wrong to Israel and had no say in political events in their homeland. They were innocent, defenceless children. The Wall of Tears banner presented a confronting truth about Israel's incursion into Gaza.”
“Add to that USA, UK, Hong Kong and Canadian wine sales, which have all declined, and you begin to understand that the wine industry is indeed in crisis. So I simply say this: raising the wine equalisation tax from $350,000 to $400,000 will make some difference. It's not the silver bullet. It won't cure all the problems, but it will make a difference, and right now the wine industry across Australia is in desperate need of whatever help it can get. I understand that the chamber will now be adjourning in just a moment, so I won't go on, but I simply stress that point, because it's a clear example of the damage done to the wine industry by a bad decision of a government a few years ago and one that now impacts so many families across Australia.”
“Part of the problem that we face right now is that, back in 2021, because of the Morrison government's stance, China closed its door to Australian wine for three years and imposed tariffs of between 116 to 218 per cent. Labor lifted those tariffs in March 2024, almost exactly three years later, and sales have started to pick up. But, for three years, we had almost no sales whatsoever. Those three years of no sales literally account for all of the wine that is now in storage and which can't be sold. Regrettably, even though the markets have reopened, the problem is that China found new places to buy their wine from, so getting back to the full amount of wine that was being sold to China before the tariffs were imposed is becoming increasingly difficult.”
“An oversupply of wine and declining domestic and global consumption is causing that, and that's leading to an oversupply, where we currently have about 52 million litres in storage. A few years ago, growers were getting something like $600 per tonne for their grapes. Today, they are offered $150 a tonne if they can get a buyer. That amount, $150 a tonne, doesn't even cover production costs—water, fertilisers, insecticides, labour et cetera—and when you add climate change to all that, you understand how difficult it is for some of those growers, which has led to a number of the growers now ripping out good plantations, healthy vines. Quite frankly, it's a shame to see that happening.”
“These facts can be sourced very easily from wine industry websites. To put this into perspective, I'll just go through some of the facts. The wine industry contributes some $51 billion to the Australian economy, supports about 200,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributes to regional tourism, with 7.5 million winery visits annually. And Australia is a top six global wine producer. Sixty per cent of Australian wine is exported. That is 630 million tonnes, on the last figures that I was able to get, and over a third of that goes to goes to China. Total production is about 1.57 million tonnes a year. Across Australia, we have 2,156 wineries and some 6,000 grape growers. My home state of South Australia accounts for over 52 per cent of all of that. Right now, the industry is struggling. In fact, it's in crisis.”
“This highlights just how important it is to ensure that adequate protections are put in place against the types of unscrupulous practices that too often take place. Schedule 2 of the bill places a ban on advertising superannuation funds during an employee's onboarding when starting a new job, with some exceptions. Whilst this doesn't directly address the circumstances that arose in the Shield and First Guardian collapses, it does nevertheless deal with a similar type of flaw whereby people may be exploited to make an uninformed choice at short notice amongst all the paperwork and preparation when they start a new job. The second issue that I want to briefly speak about is how this legislation affects the wine tax and, in particular, the wine equalisation tax, which will go from $350,000 to $500,000.”
“The first is to try and ensure that we ban advertising during onboarding. In a simplistic way, that's all about trying to ensure that people don't invest their money with funds which are not credible and secure. We saw that with the collapse of the Shield Master Fund and the First Guardian managed investment schemes, which impacted some 12,000 investors and perhaps up to $1.2 billion of funds. Whilst it appears some of those investors will be compensated, the future is very uncertain for many others who have lost some or all of their retirement savings and don't know if they will receive compensation. Investors were lured into those funds through being cold-called and encouraged to switch from safer, more regulated funds to higher-risk, less-regulated funds.”
“But the importance of super is simply this: not only does it provide for security and financial stability in retirement years but it actually reduces the burden on governments in paying pensions for those who don't have superannuation. In fact, right now, Australia is possibly the only country bucking the global trend and spending a smaller proportion of GDP on the pension whilst other countries are spending more of their GDP on pension payments. So we're going against that trend all because of the superannuation policies that we have in this country. Labor's commitment to a sustainable superannuation system is demonstrated with this very legislation. The legislation has six schedules to it. I don't have time to talk about each of the schedules, but I want to talk about two of them.”
“We have since seen several attempts by coalition policies to try and allow people to have access to that super before they are entitled to, which, in my view, totally undermines the whole purpose of the scheme. The reality is that, because of Labor's policies, today there is some $4.3 trillion in superannuation assets held in this country. My understanding is—and this is based on the latest figures I was able to get—that over $2.7 trillion is in APRA regulated entities and over $1 trillion is in self-managed funds. These are big numbers. I understand that Australia has the fourth-largest super assets holdings globally of any country and, the way we are going, it may well be that we'll be No. 1 in the years ahead.”
“It was Labor that introduced super in 1992, and it did so to ensure that all Australian workers could retire with dignity and financial security. It has been Labor ever since then that has ensured that the superannuation guarantee that was introduced continues to serve Australian workers in the way it was intended to. Labor continue to upgrade and refine the superannuation laws so nobody misses out. A good example of that is when it was applied to people on paid parental leave. Contrary to that, we have seen, ever since the superannuation guarantee was introduced, the coalition trying to somehow obstruct the intent of it. Indeed, we not only saw that in the last period of coalition government, where the contribution rate was 9.5 per cent and remained that way between 2014 and 2021.”
“Sorng Nou received the Active Citizenship Award for his work within the Cambodian community, and Jim Binder received the Community Achievement Award as the longstanding leader of the Salisbury Bicycle User Group. Community event of the year went to the Salisbury Business Association's John Street Family Fun Day and Emergency Services Appreciation Day, which recognised the service of the Salisbury CFS, the Salisbury SES and the Playford St John cadet division. In Tea Tree Gully, Noelle Wallis was the Outstanding Citizen of the Year for the terrific work she and her team do at the Pathway Community Centre, and the Jubilee Way parkrun was the outstanding community group for their Saturday morning community fun runs. Congratulations to all of those recipients. Thank you for all you do for our community.”
“Every day, thousands of Australians quietly go about their day doing invaluable community work. And today I acknowledge those people who were this year recognised with Tea Tree Gully and Salisbury councils' Australia Day awards. In Salisbury, the citizen of the year was Sheryl Smith who, with her daughter Chloe, rescues animals and supports homeless people. Young citizen went to Alina Ali for her work in promoting social cohesion. Senior citizen was awarded to Paul Dittmar, a lifelong stalwart at the Pooraka football club and who, with his wife Bronwen, has created a very popular community hub through their bakery shop, the Fabulous Baker Boys Bakery.”
“I specifically thank the last committee chair, Mr Graham Perrett, the former member for Moreton; the Hon. Keith Pitt, former member for Hinkler; and Mr Andrew Willcox, the member for Dawson, who is still with us. They both served as deputy chairs. I thank them for their careful stewardship of the Public Works Committee through the 47th Parliament. I also express my thanks to the former committee secretariat staff for their support and guidance of the committee throughout the parliament. Lastly, I acknowledge my committee colleagues, particularly the returning deputy chair, Mr Andrew Willcox, and the current committee secretariat. I thank them all for their collaboration and proactiveness from the committee's establishment in this parliament. I commend the reports to the House.”
“The committee will continue to scrutinise this agency expenditure on consultants to ensure that taxpayer money is serving the interests of the Australian public first, not the multibillion-dollar consultancy industry. I also have concerns with the longstanding practice that only entities that are on a government registered panel can tender for government work. At the very least, these panels should be more frequently reviewed and opened up to new entities. As a final reflection, 2025 was another significant year for the Public Works Committee, which continued to pursue the best value for Australian taxpayers as the government progresses its infrastructure priorities. I thank the committee of the 47th Parliament for their tremendous dedication during their service.”
“Agencies must demonstrate the government has considered and continues to carefully consider how their proposals will affect employees of the agency and other stakeholders, the local community and the Australian public at large. Perhaps most concerning, though, is the general position agencies seem to have adopted concerning the use of consultant services in public works projects, which assumes that consultants guarantee best value for money. Too often the committee is seeing agencies readily shell out eye-watering amounts of taxpayer dollars on what appear to be excessive consultant fees, without any ability to explain what this money is achieving for the effective and measured fiscal delivery of projects.”
“Evasive, unclear and obstructive engagement—or, in the worst cases, complete lack of engagement with the committee—undermines the process and calls into question whether agencies have discharged their obligations to pursue best value for money. Agencies are reminded that this legislative obligation serves to prevent inappropriate expenditure of public money. The committee's scrutiny also requires agencies to confirm that all affected and interested stakeholders are appropriately consulted, including those opposed to a proposed public work. Consultation should not be a perfunctory exercise, nor should it be used to quickly identify and dismiss genuine concerns or opposition.”
“The committee commends the efforts of those agencies who continue to engage in good faith with the public works scrutiny process. At the same time, the committee takes this opportunity to remind agencies that this parliamentary scrutiny function serves the critical purpose of ensuring that best value for money is achieved for the taxpayer dollar. While the committee for this parliament has only been established for seven months now, we have observed several concerning trends during our scrutiny of proposed works both for major referrals and for medium works. For the committee to confirm the best value for money has been achieved, agencies are expected to be frank and open regarding their sponsored works.”
“Chapter 1 also reemphasises the recommendation from the committee's 87th annual report for consultative review of the Public Works Committee Act 1969. The nature and volume of public works have evolved significantly since the committee was established over 100 years ago, and the act is in urgent need of reform to ensure it is fit for purpose in the current economic circumstances within which public works occur. The committee acknowledges the government's in-principle agreement with the recommendation and is eager to see the review progress so that the act can provide a more robust and modern framework for the work of the committee. Accordingly, the second chapter of this report provides an overview of the continuing need for reform to the Public Works Committee Act.”
“The Committee is required by legislation to make a report every year on its work within 15 sitting days of the conclusion of the previous calendar year. As an election year, 2025 saw the end of the service of the committee of the 47th Parliament and the establishment of the committee of the 48th Parliament. This report covers the work of both committees over this period, as is required by the legislation. Chapter 1 of the 89th annual report outlines the committee's proceedings in 2025. In 2025, the committee reported on 10 major works with a combined cost of over $1.344 billion. The committee also scrutinised 75 medium works with a combined value of over $825.38 million. The committee also received 30 notifications for changes to already approved medium works.”
“Given the magnitude of the quantum of money going to contractors for this project, this type of response is not good enough, and the committee expects more thorough and reasoned justifications for expenditure on contractors in the future. While I make this comment specifically in relation to the proposed works at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, this is a statement that could be applied to public work referrals more generally. I commend that report to the House, and I'll now make some comments with respect to the public works committee's 89th annual report. On behalf of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, I present that 89th annual report, which is one of the roles of this committee.”
“While the committee acknowledges the vital work done by the centre and recognises the need for and value in the proposed refit, the committee heard disconcerting evidence on the proportion of project costs to be expended on contractor services for the project—double what the committee has seen for other projects of similar scales. Yes, this is a complicated refit that requires specialised skills and knowledge to design and construct. This the committee does not question. However, when asked to justify the proportion of project costs that go to contractors, the committee did not receive convincing answers from the CSIRO or from witnesses from the contractors themselves.”
“In relation to the Attorney-General's Department's proposed fit-out of its current lease at 3-5 National Circuit, the committee recommends that the department exercise its two lease renewal options at the conclusion of the current lease in ten years time in order to maximise the value to the Commonwealth of the proposed fit-out. This would extend the use of the fitted out accommodation to 20 years. Finally, I take this opportunity to make some remarks on the cost of contract services in relation to the CSIRO's proposed refit of the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness.”
“In addition to these recommendations, the committee recommends to the Australian Taxation Office that it continues to enhance and refine its change management processes, ensuring that it incorporates robust consultation procedures for the design and delivery stages of proposed works to effectively capture all affected staff. Similarly, the committee recommends that the Department of Home Affairs ensures that current staff at Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre are given an opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed redevelopment design and that the committee be updated on such consultation efforts. With respect to the Yongah Hill Detention Centre, I also draw attention to paragraph 7.32 on page 42 of the committee's report No. 1 of 2026 relating to that redevelopment.”
“In considering these proposed works, the committee received submissions and held private briefings, public hearings and in camera hearings with the relevant agencies as well as conducting formal and informal site inspections at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness in Geelong, the Black Mountain greenhouse site in Canberra and the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre near Perth. After giving due consideration to the evidence that the committee received, the committee is recommending that it is expedient for all of the proposed works to progress.”
“This report considers the following six proposed works: (1) the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's Black Mountain greenhouse redevelopment project, which has a total estimated cost of $37.9 million; (2) the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness stage 1 part-life refit, which has a total estimated cost of $372.216 million; (3) the Australian Tax Office's proposed fit-out of leased premises levels 5 to 10, 152 Wharf Street, Brisbane, Queensland, which has a total estimated cost of $29.17 million; (4) Services Australia's proposed fit-out of leased premises at 90 Crown Street, Wollongong, New South Wales, which has a total estimated cost of $22.34 million; (5) the Attorney-General's Department's proposed fit out of existing leased premises at 3-5 National Circuit Barton, Australian Capital Territory, which has a total estimated cost of $39.93 million; and (6) the Department of Home Affairs's Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre Hawk Compound redevelopment project, which has a total estimated cost of $34.94 million.”
“On behalf of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, I present the 89th annual report and report No. 1 of 2026, R eferrals made in September and October 2025 . Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). I ask leave of the house to make a short statement in connection with the reports. Leave granted. Once again, on behalf of the Public Works, I present the committee's first report for 2026 and the third for the 48th parliament.”
“In the Makin area alone, over $14 million was committed for much-needed sports club facilities, and the decades-old septic tank community wastewater management system in the Tea Tree Gully council area is being replaced with direct home connections to SAWater mains. In recent years I've worked closely with state MPs in the Makin electorate: Blair Boyer, Rhiannon Pearce, Olivia Savvas, Michael Brown and John Fulbrook. They are all committed and hardworking representatives for the areas and deserve to be re-elected. At a time of so much local and international uncertainty, the South Australian Malinauskas Labor government has the stability and credibility to deal with the difficult matters whilst not ignoring the daily issues facing South Australian businesses and households, and I will be doing all I can to ensure that it is re-elected.”
“The Marshall Liberal government's privatisations of our train and tram services have been reversed, with both now back in public hands. Through investments in police recruitment and tackling crime, SAPOL now has the second highest rate of operational staff per 100,000 people, and South Australia now has the lowest re-offending rate in Australia. For 15 consecutive months, overall crime in South Australia has fallen. Last year's state budget saw massive investments in infrastructure projects, including the North-South Corridor, jointly funded with the federal government; the new Women's and Children's Hospital; the High Productivity Vehicle Network; the Curtis Road level crossing removal; and safety upgrades on Main South Road between Myponga and Yankalilla.”
“Stronger standards for retirement villages are now in place, including caps on some fees and better transparency in contracts. If re-elected, the Malinauskas government has also announced that three new mental health assessment units will be constructed next to the Royal Adelaide, Noarlunga and Lyell McEwen hospital emergency departments, whilst the old Women's and Children's Hospital will be transformed into a dedicated aged-care precinct. Working together, the Malinauskas and Albanese governments have stepped in to save Bedford from collapse and protect the futures of 1,250 supported workers, 300 employees and clients with disabilities. Likewise, the South Australian and Albanese governments are providing support for the Whyalla Steelworks.”
“If re-elected, a fifth is planned for the Adelaide Hills. Serving the Makin electorate region, there are now 80 more hospital beds at the Lyell McEwen Hospital and 72 more at the Modbury Hospital. The events calendar in South Australia is packed, including the bp Adelaide Grand Final, formerly known as the Adelaide 500, which has been secured until 2034, while the LIV Golf tournament and the AFL Gather Round draw tens of thousands of people to South Australia. School funding is at a record high. Five new technical colleges have opened, including The Heights Technical College in the Makin electorate. If re-elected, an additional three technical colleges will be built throughout the state. On energy, South Australia now has the equal lowest wholesale electricity prices.”
“Since 2022, South Australia has had the strongest four years of international trade on record, with $21 billion worth of goods being sold to the world. Unemployment is at 3.9 per cent and is the equal lowest of all Australian states. On dwelling stats, construction work, jobs growth and economic growth, South Australia is now leading or amongst the highest ranking of the Australian states. Over 15,000 homes were approved in South Australia in 2025—more than any other year in history and a 22 per cent increase over 2024. In the health sector, whilst there is still so much more to do, South Australia now has over 1,460 more nurses, 640 more doctors, 380 more allied health professionals and 300 paramedics and ambulance officers. Thirteen new or rebuilt ambulance stations have been opened, and four 24/7 pharmacies are now operating.”
“In March, South Australians will choose who governs the state for the next four years. It will be a choice between an experienced, disciplined and competent Peter Malinauskas Labor government and a mix of untested non-Labor candidates. The South Australian Liberal Party, previously seen as the natural alternative to Labor, is paralysed by disunity, scandal and inexperience. Four years ago, when Peter Malinauskas was elected premier, he outlined a vision to transform South Australia, tackle the issues that mattered and make South Australia a leader, not a follower. Today the widely held view is that he has delivered on his vision and has turned South Australia around. Whilst the following is by no means a comprehensive list, it provides some noteworthy achievements of the Malinauskas Labor government.”
“Malcolm, who also passed away only recently, was one of the small team of Comcar drivers in Adelaide. Malcolm's funeral, I believe, is tomorrow. Like Luch, Malcolm was one of those people upon whom we rely each and every day who do such a wonderful service—unassuming and always there supporting. Again, I simply want to say thank you to Malcolm and offer my condolences to his family.”
“I suspect that Luch, even among the attendants and the other staff, set an example for others to follow, which is something that we should also appreciate. I thank him for his personal support, but I also thank him for being the role model he became as an attendant in this place. As others have said, and as the last speaker—the member for Riverina—quite rightly pointed out, it's not usual that we honour someone that hasn't been a statesman of some sort, yet here we are, honouring and remembering Luch, because he did touch our lives. I say to Luch: thank you for your support during my time here. It's greatly appreciated, as I'm sure it is for all the others. May you rest in peace. Just while I'm on my feet, I will also take the opportunity to recognise Malcolm Balcarek.”
“As so many other members have pointed out, Luch could read people. He could read the floor of parliament and he could read when he perhaps needed to do that little bit extra that others might not have picked up on but Luch had. With respect to his work here, I have to say that it is something that has touched each and every one of us, because he touched each and every one of us in a very, very personal way. He reflects and embodies what I believe is the spirit of all of the staff that work in this building—whether it's the attendants, whether it's all the other staff that we see in Parliament House—who, equally, are nonpartisan and don't treat anyone differently but collectively make our role work as well as it does and give us the support that they do.”
“And they were treated equally; he didn't differentiate and he tried to support people in every way he could. One of the things I did notice about Luch was that he got to know the procedures and processes of this place so well, and he was a stickler for procedure. I could see that in the way he would talk to his other attendants, making sure that things were done right according to the rules and conventions of this place. He did that and I admire him for it. The credibility of this place all comes down to the way we all conduct ourselves and the processes which we adhere to and which, in turn, give legal standing to everything we do. Luch wanted to make sure that was done properly, and he always did. As we all know, the role of politicians is not always easy, and there are indeed stresses that we all face each and every day.”
“When I was first elected in 2007 and came here, Luch was the first attendant I got to know. He was the one that you might say I was introduced to as one of the attendants of this place. From that very first moment, he made me feel welcome and he made me feel supported. For a new member, it's pretty important to know that you feel that you've just made a friend that knows this place and is going to be there for you when you need that support. It's incredibly important. Over time, you build up relationships with so many other people, but he was the very first person I can actually recall. Others have spoken of the way he was able to support people in this room, regardless of which side of politics they came from, and to do so in such a professional way that everyone felt treated—as others have quite rightly said—equally.”
“When I heard of Luch's passing, like so many others I couldn't believe it. I just thought, no, it can't be possible. Sometimes things seem to be what they are—I can recall on the very last day of last year when we were in this place, seeing Luch there and admiring him on that particular day for the way he conducted himself and for the way he worked within this building. When I reflected back on it later, I thought, 'I have been here for 18 years, but why did I think of him on that particular day in the way that I did?' Perhaps it was because, for some unknown reason, it was the last time I would see him. When I came back here after the break, and even now, I still don't find it real that he's not part of this building and that he's not one of the people that we see each and every day.”