3 June, 2026
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:07): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Attorney-General on the topic of government appointments.
Leave granted.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: In May, it was revealed that former Labor minister Leon Bignell had been appointed to the position of Agent General to London. The position is paid more than $600,000 a year. Just a few weeks later, former Labor minister Andrea Michaels was appointed to the Supreme Court to a position that is paid $468,000 a year. Yesterday, the Attorney-General refused to reveal whether or not there was a selection process associated with this position. My questions to the Attorney-General, therefore, are:
1. Will he today reveal whether these positions were publicly advertised, or are only former Labor ministers eligible to apply?
2. Will the Attorney commit to an independent merit-based appointment process for judicial appointments in the future to avoid the perception of more Labor jobs for mates?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Deputy Premier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Arts, Special Minister of State) (15:08): I thank he honourable member for his question and his job application, but in all seriousness I have mentioned in this place that I don't think serving in this parliament ought to be something that precludes you from other forms of service.
I will go through a couple of other things that this government did over the last term. It reappointed the Hon. David Ridgway, a former colleague of ours who used to sit in this exact space, as the Agent General in London. It appointed former Liberal Deputy Premier, Dan van Holst Pellekaan, as the Small Business Commissioner. We don't see having previously served the people of South Australia in the parliament as something that precludes you from other forms of service.
In relation to the other part of the question—is there an intention to reform how appointments are made, particularly in the judicial area—we don't have a policy to do that. We don't have a policy to change how this has been done by successive governments over many decades. I note that the former Chief Justice didn't support change either when he was asked to make comments on this matter.