House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1) 52 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Question Time Mining Super Tax MINING SUPER TAX Mrs REDMOND House of Assembly Heysen Leader of the Opposition 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 House of Assembly Ramsay Premier Minister for Economic Development Minister for Social Inclusion Minister for the Arts Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change MINING SUPER TAX 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 House of Assembly Mr PISONI: Point of order: relevance. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: No point of order. Premier. The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly Mr PISONI: Point of order: 128. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said, there was too much noise. Mr PISONI House of Assembly Mr PISONI: 128—point of order. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Premier. The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly Mr PISONI: Point of order: 128. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Point of order. The member for Unley was first— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The deputy leader. Mr WILLIAMS House of Assembly Mr WILLIAMS: I'm not sure what the point of order is, Madam Speaker. The Speaker House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly The SPEAKER: I would suggest that the deputy leader withdraw his remark. Mr WILLIAMS House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Are you going to withdraw your remark? Mr WILLIAMS House of Assembly Mr WILLIAMS: If I have accused somebody of misleading the house, I withdraw. The Speaker House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly Mr PISONI: Point of order. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Point of order, member for Unley. Mr PISONI House of Assembly Mr PISONI: This time it's repetition. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: No point of order. Premier, would you like to finish your remarks? The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly The Hon. M.D. RANN: It's okay, I've got all afternoon. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Mr PISONI House of Assembly Mr PISONI: Point of order. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Point of order, member for Unley. Mr Williams House of Assembly Mr Williams: Put up or shut up. The Speaker House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly Mr PISONI: 128: it is irrelevant and repetition. The Speaker House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly The Hon. M.D. RANN: I will repeat that. Do you want to jump up first? Members interjecting: The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly Mr WILLIAMS: I have a point of order, Madam Speaker. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Deputy leader, are you going to talk about relevance? Is that your point of order? Mr WILLIAMS House of Assembly 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 House of Assembly The SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Premier, have you finished your answer? The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly The Hon. M.D. RANN: I have finished my answer.