TREASURER'S REMARKS

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:36): My question is to the Treasurer. Given that the Treasurer believes he can excuse misleading the public and make inaccurate statements to the parliament by claiming memory loss, how can anyone dealing with the Treasurer—

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Point of order. The question—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The deputy leader can sit down.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The question was full of comment, the comment being—

Mrs Redmond: No, it wasn't.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Well, unfortunately for you, you are the Leader of the Opposition and not the Speaker. It should not be necessary for me to point that out. The question was full of comment, and the comment has gone to the Deputy Premier, as the three previous questions have, as deliberately misleading the people of South Australia. Now, you simply—

Mr Williams: He's admitted to it; it's fact.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: And, can I say, Madam Speaker, the behaviour of—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Listen to the point of order, please!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The behaviour is outrageous. Simply put, if they want an orderly answer to a question, they cannot ask disorderly questions alleging states of affairs.

The SPEAKER: I just wanted some clarification from the Clerk. It is getting very close to the line. I think I will listen very carefully to questions in future; but you have asked that question now, so I ask the Treasurer to respond.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Federal/State Relations, Minister for Defence Industries) (15:39): I will just make a couple of points. Firstly, I do recall, as I'm sure all members do, the published—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The opposition has asked a question; if you want to hear what the Treasurer has to say, please listen in silence.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: The published comments of the shadow treasurer on the day before the election, where he publicly admitted to their costings for the Royal Adelaide Hospital being 'all spin', and—

Mr GRIFFITHS: Point of order. The Treasurer is referring to comments which were attributed to me, but what I am reported as saying is completely different to what the Treasurer is now referring to.

The SPEAKER: I don't see that as a point of order.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: That is not correct. The shadow treasurer publicly admitted that their costings throughout the election campaign—

Mr PISONI: Point of order, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER: There is a point of order. The member for Unley.

Mr PISONI: The Treasurer is entering into debate.

The SPEAKER: Rather like the question, I thought. The Treasurer.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I do not want to exacerbate the tension on the issue: I just want to highlight a clear inconsistency in what the opposition is saying of me.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: The first part of the question was essentially about my integrity as a person and as a minister and how that relates to my function. What I said publicly was that there was no political benefit—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Deputy Leader!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! We have a certain time to leave tonight. If members want to keep going all night, it is all right with me. The Deputy Premier will continue his remarks.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: The point I was making is that for me to have deliberately lied some weeks ago would be, in my view, a very stupid thing to have done—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Premier.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Had I deliberately done that some weeks ago the ramifications would be great, because, whilst it may not have been known, at some point this information always becomes public. It has never been my style. I have never, ever, ever deliberately lied to this parliament and misled this parliament.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I have, as the record shows, repeatedly corrected the record when I have been of a view that I had made an error. As I said earlier, the sharp difference between those ministers who have resigned for misleading the parliament have been because, unlike me, they have not acknowledged the error publicly and to the parliament at the first opportunity. As I said, I do not want to continue the tension on this issue, but—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Deputy Premier.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I can understand the opposition's excitement, but can I say that when it comes to my integrity as a person and when it comes to my integrity as a minister, I have been a minister of the highest ethical and moral standing—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for MacKillop!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: —who has observed the highest standards of probity. I have adhered to a very rigid set of protocols to ensure that I undertake my job as ethically, morally and as professionally as I can. It has never been and never will be a feature of my operation as a minister to be one who deliberately misleads and lies in the administration of his portfolio.