NORTHERN SUBURBS

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (14:37): My question is to the Premier. Does the Premier support the views of the member for Little Para that South Australian elder statesman of music, Jimmy Barnes, should be told to put up or shut up regarding government neglect of the northern suburbs? Today in the house, the member for Little Para attacked the comments made by Mr Barnes in the Sunday Mail last weekend in which he lamented the poor condition of the state government's facilities in the northern suburbs. This morning the member told the house the following:

I saw the comment made by Jimmy Barnes, and I thought it was a bit of a yawn. Jimmy has said these things before. Jimmy comes back and says these things about his past. Fair enough, that was 40 years ago, but then he whizzes off again. It would be really good if Jimmy Barnes put his money where his mouth is, and if he really thinks these things he should get involved...If Jimmy Barnes really thinks this and really wants to do something, then rather than coming in here writing open letters to the media and then disappearing, he might say, 'Right, I'll put some money in. I'll form a foundation,' otherwise I think he should put up or shut up.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

The SPEAKER: Order! I do not think it is necessary to repeat the entire speech given by the member for Little Para. I think ministers are capable of responding.

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) (14:38): The Leader of the Opposition, Martin Hamilton-Smith, working-class man—you can just see it. We can see him there. He is a Jimmy Barnes' supporter, we know that from way back. He is a working-class man, we know that. In the northern suburbs, there are billions of dollars worth of development. Let me go through some of them, because clearly the Leader of the Opposition has not been briefed. We are very happy to give him a briefing about the Olympic Dam expansion and how we intend to maximise a huge number of jobs for South Australians, because I will make a prediction that I am sure will end up on the front page of the newspaper that somewhere during the—

Ms CHAPMAN: Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I do not recall the leader asking a question about Jimmy Barnes at Olympic Dam. He was talking about Elizabeth.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: During the 150-year life of the mine, there might be a Liberal government—

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier, when I am asked a point of order, does need to wait for me to rule on it. Even if he and I might be in agreement about whether or not something is in order, he still needs to wait for my ruling. No, there is no point of order.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Perhaps we could brief the Leader of the Opposition about what is happening at the Lyell McEwin Hospital—under a Labor government, because it would not happen under a Liberal government—where there is virtually a doubling of the number of beds and hundreds of millions of dollars being spent, effectively building a brand new hospital on the same site. It is a fantastic development at the Lyell McEwin.

Then there is the one billion-dollar development at Buckland Park, supported by the Lang Walker Corporation; the development at Playford North in which the Minister for Housing has played a leading role; and then we go on to the massive Edinburgh base expansion (a new super base) and a battalion being shifted across from Sydney into the northern suburbs.

Then of course there is Mawson Lakes and Edinburgh Parks and the work that is being done in terms of billions of dollars worth of defence projects of which the northern suburbs, more than any other area of the state, is the big beneficiary. So, we have Mawson Lakes, Techport, Playford North, Buckland Park, the Lyell McEwin and the new super schools. We have seen new police stations, including fantastic developments out at Gawler. We remember, too, a young but noble-minded member of parliament who promised and delivered a new police station and a brand new TAFE college for Salisbury. The leader's vision does not go beyond the Mitcham Shopping Centre. We have seen the motorbike, and we have seen the action man, the working-class man. You need a briefing.