More than a dozen former Labor MPs purged from South Australian government boards
In just a year and a half, the Marshall Government has conducted a ruthless purge of former Labor MPs from State Government boards.
SA News
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More than a dozen former Labor MPs have been purged from State Government boards in the 19 months since the party lost power to the Liberals.
Among those who have left key board roles include former Labor deputy premier and treasurer Kevin Foley, who quit an almost $100,000-a-year role as chairman of the state’s super fund, Funds SA.
Former Labor health, arts and environment minister John Hill vacated his role as SA Film Corporation chairman when his term expired in December last year but retains the independent chairman’s role at the Goyder Institute for Water Research.
Former state Nationals MP Karlene Maywald, who served in Mike Rann’s Labor Cabinet, resigned from SA Water’s board in August last year.
Treasurer Rob Lucas said the Liberals, in Opposition, had been highly critical of Labor “plonking” ex-MPs on boards and committees.
But Opposition treasury spokesman Stephen Mullighan accused the Government of purging Labor appointments and starting to appoint “their own cronies”.
Labor has highlighted appointments including former chairman of the Liberals’ fundraising arm Nicholas Handley to the Construction Industry Training board.
Premier Steven Marshall’s friend, tech entrepreneur Geoff Rohrsheim, has been appointed to the Premier’s Economic Advisory Council. George Freney, another tech entrepreneur and former business analyst at the Premier’s previous family company, has been appointed to the Entrepreneurship Advisory Board.
Mr Mullighan said: “In only 18 months, the Liberal Government has purged appointments made under the previous government and started appointing their own cronies. This is yet another example of Steven Marshall saying one thing in Opposition and doing the other in Government.”
But Mr Lucas said the Liberals sought appointments on merit and expertise, as had been demonstrated by the continuation of Mr Hill’s role at the water research institute.
“We always indicated that ex-politicians, just by virtue of being ex-politicians, shouldn’t be granted places on government boards and committees,” he told The Advertiser.
He accused Mr Mullighan of drawing “a pretty long bow” by contesting appointments of well-credentialled people who were not former MPs when almost 20 ex-Labor MPs held government board positions in early 2017.
But Mr Lucas declared there was no blanket ban on former MPs’ appointments, saying he personally would be happy to appoint respected former resources minister Paul Holloway to a mining-related board position if one arose.
