House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1) 52 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Parks Community Centre PARKS COMMUNITY CENTRE Mrs REDMOND House of Assembly Heysen Leader of the Opposition PARKS COMMUNITY CENTRE Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (15:19): My question is to the Attorney-General: does the Attorney-General agree with the Treasurer's statement, made on 7 October during estimates and repeated in this house today, regarding the decision to close the Parks Community Centre? He said, 'It was a unanimous decision of cabinet. There was no dissenting voice.' The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly Port Adelaide Deputy Premier Minister for Federal/State Relations Minister for Defence Industries PARKS COMMUNITY CENTRE The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Federal/State Relations, Minister for Defence Industries) (15:20): The Attorney-General, you would hope— Mrs REDMOND House of Assembly Mrs REDMOND: Point of order, Madam Speaker. Whilst I know that any minister can answer any question, I fail to see how the Treasurer can possibly answer a question about whether the Attorney-General agrees with a statement. The question was: does the Attorney-General agree with the statement? The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Madam Speaker— The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: I have not given a ruling on that. It is up to any minister to answer the question; it is up to the government to answer any question, and I do not think it is really relevant in his role as Attorney-General. I will not uphold that point of order. The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: The Attorney-General is not responsible for the Parks ; she should have asked the minister responsible or me as Treasurer. You have to understand how things work here. As I have said— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: —it was a very hard budget, a budget in which we wish we did not have to take a number of decisions that we had to. As the Premier quite rightly pointed out, the government is about difficult, hard decisions, and a capable, experienced government can make difficult, hard decisions. Mr Williams interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order, deputy leader! The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: We have seen, as a result of this budget, the credit rating agency Standard & Poor's reaffirming our AAA credit rating. I have met with Moody's, and Moody's I would expect to reaffirm our AAA credit rating. Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN House of Assembly Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: I rise on a point of order as to relevance. Even if the Treasurer is going to answer on behalf of the Attorney-General, the question was specifically about the Attorney-General's opinion of what the Treasurer said; it had nothing to do with trying to re-justify the budget. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Sit down, member for Stuart. There is no point of order there. The cabinet is of one mind, and any minister can answer. The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: We are of one mind and of one voice. We are one voice; we are one voice. The reality is that— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. K.O. FOLEY House of Assembly The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: —difficult decisions to maintain a AAA credit rating are the hard work of government. Mr PENGILLY House of Assembly Mr PENGILLY: I rise on a point of order, namely, 128, Madam Speaker. The AAA credit rating has nothing to do with the question that was asked of the Attorney-General. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: No, I do not uphold that point of order. The Treasurer is answering in a very roundabout way, but he is getting to his answer and it is relevant, I think. Have you finished Treasurer? Good.