House of Assembly Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2) 51 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Question Time Mitsubishi Motors MITSUBISHI MOTORS Mr HAMILTON-SMITH House of Assembly Waite Leader of the Opposition MITSUBISHI MOTORS Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (16:06): My question is to the Premier. Why did he tell the media and South Australians on Wednesday 6 February that he would demand the refund of $35 million from Mitsubishi without revealing that Mitsubishi CEO, Robert McEniry, had already told him two days earlier that a cheque would be sent within the week? The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly Ramsay Premier Minister for Economic Development Minister for Social Inclusion Minister for the Arts Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change MITSUBISHI MOTORS The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (16:06): Can I just tell you: I had already been told by Mitsubishi, so had the people of this state, that they would continue production until the end of 2010. So if you want to be the premier of this state— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly The Hon. M.D. RANN: If you want to be the premier of this state and you are prepared to tell people to listen and believe everything you are told then— Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly The Hon. M.D. RANN: No wonder you believe that a sensible expenditure of the public purse is to spend $34.3 billion worth of money removing Stobie poles. We, by issuing that notice and sending that letter, meant that a certain series of events went into— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly The Hon. M.D. RANN: He does not understand it. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly The Hon. M.D. RANN: He does not understand it. He should consult with his lawyer— The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! I should not have to continue to repeatedly call order in order to get order. When I call order I expect members on both sides of the chamber to be silent. The Premier. The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly The Hon. M.D. RANN: So the Leader of the Opposition is telling the people of South Australia that we should trust Mitsubishi's word. Not put in the paperwork. He is saying that we should have believed them all the way along. What an absolutely puerile misunderstanding of the role of being premier of this state. Stick to your Stobie poles.