Question Time

MINING SUPER TAX

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:15): My question is to the Premier. How does the Premier reconcile his comments regarding the Rudd government's mining tax that—and this is a quote from the Premier—'What has been announced yet isn't a done deal. We are going to be given a chance to negotiate,' with federal treasurer Swan's statement that, 'The government's stance on the tax has not changed,' and that, 'There is no room to move on the tax itself.'?

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) (14:16): The Deputy Premier has spoken to the Treasurer of Australia on a number of occasions. What we have been doing is talking to mining companies with a view to making suggested improvements to the tax regime. I mean, I do remember that the Leader of the Opposition announced, during the last election campaign, a major hike in royalties for mining.

Mr PISONI: Point of order: relevance.

The SPEAKER: No point of order. Premier.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: There is no point of order because it is about the issue of tax and royalties. The Liberals, in their election campaign, promised a major hike in—

Members interjecting:

Mr PISONI: Point of order: 128.

The SPEAKER: I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said, there was too much noise.

Mr PISONI: 128—point of order.

The SPEAKER: Premier.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: I remind members of standing order 303. But the point of the matter is that while the Liberals wanted to hike up mining in this state to make it—

Mr PISONI: Point of order: 128.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Point of order. The member for Unley was first—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The deputy leader.

Mr WILLIAMS: I'm not sure what the point of order is, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Then why are you standing up? We're not sure what the point of order is either. If you don't have a point of order sit down.

Mr WILLIAMS: I suspect the Premier is trying to mislead the house. I would like to warn him not to go down that path.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Point of order, Madam Speaker: the deputy leader has just accused the Premier of misleading the house. He either moves a substantive motion or he withdraws. You cannot slate that; you either withdraw or substantiate it.

The SPEAKER: I would suggest that the deputy leader withdraw his remark.

Mr WILLIAMS: My remark was that the Premier was heading down the path that he might mislead the house. The reality is that the Liberal Party did not promise to raise royalties—

The SPEAKER: Are you going to withdraw your remark?

Mr WILLIAMS: If I have accused somebody of misleading the house, I withdraw.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. Sit down. Would the Premier like to finish his remarks and stick to the substance of the question?

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Yes, I will finish my remarks, because the one thing that we do know is that the Liberal Party in this state decided to declare war on—

Mr PISONI: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Point of order, member for Unley.

Mr PISONI: This time it's repetition.

The SPEAKER: No point of order. Premier, would you like to finish your remarks?

The Hon. M.D. RANN: First of all, we were told that they wanted to hike up royalties to 10 per cent. Then we were told—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: It's okay, I've got all afternoon.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr PISONI: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Point of order, member for Unley.

Mr Williams: Put up or shut up.

The SPEAKER: Deputy leader, stop being so aggressive and sit down and be quiet for a while and listen to what is being said. There is a point of order from the member for Unley. What is your point of order?

Mr PISONI: 128: it is irrelevant and repetition.

The SPEAKER: The Premier can choose to answer a question how he wishes. Premier, would you like to continue your remarks?

The Hon. M.D. RANN: I will repeat that. Do you want to jump up first?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Three votes. That is Liberal Party democracy. With 14 per cent of the vote he got the position, and with 54 per cent of the vote he is sitting down the back. That is Liberal Party democracy. Let me summarise this, because—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —the last thing I want to do is provoke members opposite. The Liberal Party decided to declare war on the Olympic Dam expansion. We saw that they were going to stop the arrival of machinery—

Mr WILLIAMS: I have a point of order, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Deputy leader, are you going to talk about relevance? Is that your point of order?

Mr WILLIAMS: No; I am going to talk about debate. I believe standing order 98 provides that in answering a question a minister should not debate the answer. I believe the Premier is debating.

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Premier, have you finished your answer?

The Hon. M.D. RANN: I have finished my answer.