PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (14:45): My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer clarify and correct his contradictory statements to parliament about whether public-private partnerships are recorded on the government's balance sheet? The Treasurer told the house yesterday:

I have said right from the outset that whilst we are in government our PPPs will be on balance sheet.

However, the Treasurer told a 2007 estimates committee hearing at the outset of this project the following:

It becomes an off balance sheet item, so the government itself does not incur the debt. All this debate we are having about debt becomes somewhat irrelevant.

He said: 'The debt is held by the private sector.' Which version is right?

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I have a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am sure the Treasurer is happy to answer this, but to put into the question the statement in advance that the statements of the Treasurer were contradictory is merely debate and is inflammatory and likely simply to cause debate.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Sir, listen to them. This is exactly what they get.

The SPEAKER: Order! I had thought that at the time. As I have said in the past, I cannot make the member withdraw the question. Once the question has been asked, it has been asked. However, I do give ministers greater scope in answering a question if I consider there has been debate inserted into the question. The Treasurer.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Federal/State Relations) (14:47): Mr Speaker, I will look at what I said in the estimates committee.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: They say that I am inconsistent. My God!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: It may well be that when the hospital was first considered there may have been a view—I may have held the view—

Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the Opposition!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I may well have held the view at that time that the PPP could be an off balance—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacKillop has already been warned once.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Back at that point, sir, I may have been of the view that the PPP could indeed be an off balance sheet transaction. As I explained to the house yesterday—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Well, that may well be the case.

Mr Williams: You are making it up.

The SPEAKER: Order, member for MacKillop!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Mr Speaker, I am happy to give an answer but I am not going to stand here and have these interjections when I am trying to make a fairly obvious point.

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: As I explained yesterday, public-private partnerships were initially undertaken by governments as a vehicle by which to transfer risk to the private sector and, when sufficient risk has been transferred to the private sector, accounting standards and the auditor-general of the day had allowed those projects to be off balance sheet. It may well be that, at the time, I was of the view that it could be an off balance sheet transaction. However, the point I made yesterday was that that was old thinking. That is what I have just said: that was old thinking.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Davenport!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Public-private partnerships have been a mechanism for delivering public infrastructure that has been evolving over the past half a dozen years. There has been an increasing trend to treat these transactions as on balance sheet transactions. That is what we are now doing. We are not going to accept that, to get it off balance sheet, we will transfer all of the risk that would have to be done to get it off balance sheet. That is why the prisons will be treated as an on balance sheet item; that is why schools are being treated as an on balance sheet item.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Sorry: what was that?

Ms Chapman: Take them out of the budget altogether.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Taking them out of the budget altogether?

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Because we have not started—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I just find the questioning bizarre. As I have said—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The deputy leader!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: That's it!

The SPEAKER: There is a supplementary question from the Leader of the Opposition.