19 August, 2026
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (18:03): I thank the honourable members for their contributions: the Hon. Mira El Dannawi and the Hon. Nicola Centofanti. In particular, I want to acknowledge and thank the government for their support of this inquiry and also acknowledge the leadership of Minister Michael Brown in this regard. I enjoy a collegial relationship with the minister. I appreciate his willingness to look at this issue and, indeed, the Labor government's willingness to look at this.
Certainly, I and other members as well have heard of significant anecdotal evidence of problems occurring within the real estate sector, in particular real estate agents, property representatives and the like engaging in inappropriate conduct. Often renters are adversely impacted by that conduct but also people who are wanting to buy a home. We know, of course, that purchasing a home or selling a home is one of the biggest decisions that you will make in your lifetime. It is really important that we have the balance right when it comes to protection of consumers. So I really welcome the opportunity to get this inquiry up and running and to look at what we can do to ensure that South Australians have the highest form of protection possible. I envisage this committee will look at what is going on in other places around the country and see what we can do to get the balance right.
With respect to the opposition's amendments, I do not think they add any value to the inquiry. If anything, they dilute the terms of reference, so on that basis the Greens will not be supporting them.