MARATHON RESOURCES

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop) (14:50): My question is to the Premier. What went wrong with—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WILLIAMS: —the environmental control measures required in the licence for Marathon Resources Exploration at Mount Gee and which minister signed off on the licence?

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) (14:50): I was hoping it was going to be the Leader of the Opposition because I am told his staff had been predicting that this would be the St Valentine's Day massacre in here in parliament today. But you can see he is getting nervous of Alexander Downer. No-one really believes that Alexander Downer is going to form a business with Ian Smith, some sort of lobbying firm. No-one believes that. We know what he really wants to do. It is time for another Downer in this parliament. Let's get 'on a Downer' in this parliament and support him. I am prepared to get out there and say 'Alex for the House of Assembly'. We need that kind of approach. No more blue stockings in the South Australian parliament.

Now let's get on with the answer to the question about Marathon Resources. We believed they were playing up and we acted. We said we were not going to tolerate cowboy behaviour and we acted, and the fact is there will be no further drilling by them because we are not the American Wild West. We are not going to tolerate cowboy behaviour by any company, contractor or employee, and what they did was cowboy behaviour.

The SPEAKER: I call the member for Ashford.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The house will come to order. Show some courtesy to the member asking a question.