MEDIA RELEASE

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

13 December 2021

So, who’s running the State?

South Australia is in the middle of a pandemic and the State Government is turning its back on the community so MPs can take a five-month break at full pay – and Member for Geoff Brock isn’t happy!

A decision, driven by Deputy Premier and member for Stuart, Dan van Holst Pellekaan to effectively shut down the State’s seat of government for their annual summer break will see South Australia without any direction until the outcome of the next election.

“What was Dan thinking,” said Mr Brock of the Deputy Premier.

“The State is still trying to manage a pandemic, made more difficult with the emergence of the ever-changing variants, and we have no idea what our health landscape will look like,” Mr Brock said.

“Who will be running South Australia?”

 It is normally the role of the Speaker of the House to decide whether or not to waive the tradition of optional Parliamentary sitting weeks before and after Christmas and prior to a State election.

“However, this year, the new Deputy Premier and member for Stuart, Mr van Holst Pellekaan took the matter out of the Speaker’s hands with a successful motion supported by his colleagues to take this enormous break,” Mr Brock said.

“Effectively, Parliament will be on holiday for almost half a year.”

Mr Brock said shutting down Parliament for this length of time could effectively take some pressure off scandals and other matters which have been plaguing the Liberal Government, but it would not help manage the State.

 “I am concerned that the border opening could result in further pandemic emergency declarations and that there would be other matters which Parliament should be discussing and acting on during the next few months.

“If we step away from Parliament for this time there will be no scrutiny of the Government leading up to the election, allowing for no questions about what the government does,” Mr Brock said.

Mr Brock and some of his colleagues have been vocal in their condemnation of the forced closure of the State’s Parliament by the Liberal Government, but their arguments that it would be detrimental to all South Australians have fallen on deaf ears.

ENDS