On what planet is it acceptable for a Minister of the Crown, Attorney General and Deputy Premier to remain in office after being found to have had a "conflict of interest, misled parliament and breached the ministerial code of conduct in relation to her decision to block" a critical $40 million infrastructure project?
Vickie Chapman lost the vote of no confidence in the House of Assembly yesterday, with no less than FOUR independents voting to remove her from her positions as Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning and Local Government, and as a Member of the Executive Council. Yet Premier Marshall has decided to overturn centuries of convention to protect his deputy, claiming this is a partisan attack.He then claims that his decision is justified because the ALP's Ian Hunter remained in office following votes of no confidence against him.Premier Marshall has no shame.
Education Minister John Gardner rejected the findings of the independent QC who found against Chapman at the inquiry, claiming that she “has not been elected by the people of SA to serve in this parliament”.
But the House of Assembly representatives were - and you rejected their democratic vote in order to preserve power.In our view, Chapman's position is utterly untenable and she must be immediately removed from her commissions as Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning and Local Government, and as a Member of the Executive Council. This is not about party politics. This is about the rule of law in this state.
As Opposition Leader Malinauskas said, “How can Question Time serve its legitimate function within a parliamentary democracy, if the Opposition and crossbenchers can ask questions of the Government and they knowingly mislead the House, without consequence.”#chapmanout #ruleoflaw #NoConfidence #DLPSA
