House of Assembly Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3) 51 3 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published 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) (15:21): As a supplementary question, in light of the Treasurer's reply, why was the $35 million of unspent funding not declared by the Treasurer as part of the budget surplus? The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly Port Adelaide Deputy Premier Minister for Industry and Trade Minister for Federal/State Relations MITSUBISHI MOTORS The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Federal/State Relations) (15:21): It is not part of the budget surplus. You do not understand financial accounting. Mr Hamilton-Smith House of Assembly Mr Hamilton-Smith: You've socked it away. The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I've socked it away? Yes; I have put it into a company that will bid to buy the land at Tonsley Park. Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I just said that, if I bring it back because we do not, we will spend that money on other infrastructure in the south. Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition will come to order! Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting: The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: It is not a surplus; we are spending it. We are going to spend it, Marty. Surplus is the money you do not spend. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order, the Leader of the Opposition! Mr Hamilton-Smith House of Assembly Mr Hamilton-Smith: The Auditor-General's going to have a field day. The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: The Auditor-General's going to have a field day. Yes, righty-oh; let's wait and see on that one. Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting: The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I will let you into a little secret: we actually gave Mitsubishi the $35 million; that was an expense. We get $35 million back, and until we allocate it— Ms Chapman interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The deputy leader! The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: We did disclose it; that is how you got the question. Ms Chapman interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition! Ms Chapman interjecting: The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: That's how you got the question. Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting: The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Am I really? The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition will come to order! The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Honestly, that is a pathetic effort by the opposition, if that is the best you can do. I put it into an account because— Ms Chapman House of Assembly Ms Chapman: You don't know where it is. The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: What do you mean, 'I don't know where it is'? I just told you where it is. I did it. It was my decision: guilty. On advice from Treasury, I might add. What is the issue? What else are we going to do with it? I guess we could not have transferred it to the Land Management Corporation. What would we have done then? Then, next financial year when you spend it— Members interjecting: The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Kate Lennon? Do you accept that the Land Management Corporation is the right entity to purchase the Mitsubishi site? I actually think it is the right entity. We have said that that money will be used for infrastructure provision and industrial capability on land in the south, so that money, quite appropriately, had to sit somewhere. Ms Chapman House of Assembly Ms Chapman: In a hollow log. The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Hollow log? For goodness sake, its accounts are published. It gives an annual report; it is in the budget; it is audited. Ms Chapman House of Assembly Ms Chapman: A year later— The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition! The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: A year later? It is in the budget papers. They are getting me frustrated already, sir. I should not have to put up with this very poor questioning. After seven years you would expect that they would be a bit better at their questioning.