‘It’s all BS’: Premier Peter Malinauskas slams politicians' vows to ease cost-of-living pressures

Premier Peter Malinauskas is insisting he is an honest leader, despite publicly condemning politicians for talking “BS” by vowing to ease cost-of-living pressures.

Premier Peter Malinauskas is insisting he is an honest leader, despite publicly condemning politicians for talking “bullshit” by vowing to ease cost-of-living pressures.

In an interview with The Advertiser, Mr Malinauskas conceded politicians could be “nuanced on occasion”, when asked if he was honest with the South Australian public.

Mr Malinauskas told a Whyalla public forum on Sunday night that politicians frequently vowed to try to reduce living costs but “nine times out of ten it’s all bullshit”.

The Liberal Opposition has attacked Mr Malinauskas for breaking his core 2022 election vow to fix the ambulance ramping crisis, which has blown out to record levels, and then twisting his promise to cover response times.

Premier Peter Malinauskas speaking in Whyalla. Picture: Ben Clark

Asked if he was committed to being honest with voters, Mr Malinauskas said: “I think you should commit to being honest to everybody in all your relationships, but you know, people will look for honesty and frankness.

“That doesn’t mean that politicians shouldn’t be nuanced on occasion. You’ve got to think about the words you use carefully.

“But yeah, of course. I mean, I’ve never sought to be dishonest, that’s for sure.”

Mr Malinauskas told the Whyalla forum that prices were largely set by markets and politicians were all-but powerless in a market economy, saying the “prime minister doesn’t control the price of petrol any more than he controls the price of Weet-Bix”.

Asked by The Advertiser to explain his comments and whether he was the most honest politician in Australia, Mr Malinauskas repeated that politicians did not control living costs.

“My experience is the general public have a pretty good nose for what’s true and what isn’t,” he said.

“And they instinctively understand that we have a market-based economy.

“They know that politicians can’t control these things. And they, the more they hear politicians talk about it, the more cynical I think they become, and with some justification.”

Mr Malinauskas said government had some role to play in shaping prices and living costs but not “the only role to play”.

“The government’s responsibility is to make sure we’ve got a strong competition framework that actually works, but without dictating the price of particular items, because that actually would have a long-term consequence of making prices worse,” he said.

“I think the general public’s expectation of government in this regard is actually reasonable. I just think they would appreciate a greater degree of honesty about what can and what can’t happen.

“Let’s speak to what we can control rather than what we can’t.”

Originally published as ‘It’s all BS’: Premier Peter Malinauskas slams politicians' vows to ease cost-of-living pressures