SA Premier and Treasurer team likened to 'bikie gang' by Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne

Updated

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill and his Treasurer have been likened to a "bikie gang" by Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne.

In a fiery exchange with Mr Weatherill on 891 ABC Adelaide this morning, Mr Pyne said he was "sad that our Premier and Treasurer in particular, would rather operate like a political bikie gang than a mature state government".

Tensions between the two governments have deteriorated since the release of the 2014-15 federal budget last year, which the State Government responded to by paying for an advertising campaign criticising significant budget cuts to pensioner concessions, health and education.

The SA Government has also been putting continued and sustained pressure on the Federal Government over its potential to break its election promise to build 12 new submarines in SA, as well as what it calls insufficient support as the state prepares to adapt to the exit of its automotive manufacturing industry in 2017.

Those tensions escalated this week after the State Government released a document to the media earlier than planned outlining its plans for a north-south corridor upgrade in Adelaide.

Mr Pyne said his Government had paid for the document, had responded with feedback to a draft form in December, and had an agreement to release it together with the State Government later this month.

We're going to target every other one of those Liberal marginal seat MPs, because they have been pathetic in standing up and fighting for SA. SA Premier Jay Weatherill

"But we never heard from the State Government again, and yesterday [State Treasurer] Tom Koutsantonis drops the report and starts attacking the Federal Government," he said.

Yesterday, Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey said the SA Government was the most "difficult government" in the country to deal with, while Federal Assistant Infrastructure Minister and SA MP Jamie Briggs called Mr Koutsantonis "a lunatic" and declared he would no longer work with him.

Mr Weatherill said he "made no apologies" for standing up for SA, and if that had caused "hurt feelings" among the Liberals, "so be it".

He responded to Mr Pyne's comments by saying the Education Minister's federal seat of Sturt would be targeted by the State Government.

"Here's how it works," Mr Weatherill said.

"We're going to target Christopher Pyne in the next federal election and we're going to take his seat off him.

"And we're going to target every other one of those Liberal marginal seat MPs, because they have been pathetic in standing up and fighting for SA.

"That will concentrate their minds and they might find their voice. All of a sudden you might start to see a few things happen here in SA."

The State Government argued it released the document earlier because Mr Hockey had claimed it did not have any infrastructure plans on offer for federal funding.

Mr Pyne said Mr Weatherill was acting like a "nasty bovver boy" with "political vindictiveness".

He added that he was not afraid of losing his seat, pointing out he had won eight elections despite Labor parties saying they were going to take his seat.

The nearby seat of Fisher, a state electorate that was held by the late independent Bob Such, a former Liberal, was lost to Labor in a 2014 by-election.

Topics: government-and-politics, state-parliament, parliament, states-and-territories, budget, adelaide-5000, sa

First posted