Fledgling Liberal leader Vincent Tarzia needs to concede rail privatisation was a failure and formally rule it out under a future Liberal government.
After last month reportedly declining to rule out re-privatising Adelaide's rail services, Opposition Transport spokesman Ben Hood later backflipped and insisted a Liberal Government wouldn't again sell off South Australia's transport services if elected.
But his leader still seems unconvinced, with Vincent Tarzia yesterday criticising the Malinauskas Government for bringing the privatised train service back into public hands, which delivered on a major Labor state election commitment.
"The proof will be in the pudding, the Government made a decision – let's see what happens," he said on FIVEaa yesterday.
Mr Hood himself was yesterday washing his hands of the Marshall government's rail privatisation, telling reporters: "That was something that a previous government had done, before I was in parliament."
However, he conceded that "essential services like public transport should always remain, I believe, in the hands of the public".
Mr Tarzia must now follow his Transport spokesman's leadership and disavow the Marshall government's failed rail privatisation.
If he doesn't, how can he be trusted not to do it again?
As put by Tom Koutsantonis
The Liberals can't be trusted on privatisation. We all remember Steven Marshall's infamous pledge that he didn't have a 'privatisation agenda' – before quickly selling off our rail services once he got into office.
It's one thing for Liberals such as Ben Hood to now distance themselves from that decision and declare a future Liberal government wouldn't again flog off assets.
But the Liberals have form – they say one thing in Opposition and do entirely the opposite when elected.
Vincent Tarzia needs to unambiguously declare whether he stands by the disastrous decision of the former Liberal government he was a member of to privatise South Australia's rail services.
If he says he has no future plans to privatise, why can't he now admit it was a mistake?
