SPECIAL ENVOY, HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH EUROPE

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): My question is again to the Premier. Was the position of Special Envoy, Higher Education and Research Europe advertised and, if it was, how many people applied, or was the position created for Mr Sasanelli and, if so, who recommended Mr Sasanelli for the position?

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) (14:19): Can I just say before answering this question, on behalf of all members of the house, I would like to congratulate minister Koutsantonis and his wife Anthea on being proud parents for the first time today. I understand that the baby is 11 weeks premature, but mum and baby are doing extremely well. Can I say, I was pleased that the minister, this morning, said to me that he was pleased that the baby looks just like her mum, which I think we are all grateful for. So congratulations to minister Koutsantonis.

Do you know the envoys that we have overseas—John Olsen. That was not advertised and no-one on that side of the house complained about it. He was our special envoy to the United States. It was the idea and recommendation of the Deputy Premier. How much was it?

The Hon. K.O. Foley: A hundred.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Okay, $100,000 a year. Part-time special envoy to the United States, John Olsen, former Liberal leader. Why did we appoint him without going out to advertise? His skills. He had been the consul general in Los Angeles; he had been the consul general in New York—

Mr WILLIAMS: Madam Speaker, point of order. The question is specifically about Dr Sasanelli.

The SPEAKER: No, I do not uphold that point of order because it is part of the explanation, I understand.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: So the envoys, we grab the best available. John Wayne Olsen, former Liberal leader, former consul general to the United States' cities, Los Angeles and New York. We appointed him without advertising because he was the best man for the job. And when it comes—

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: No—to China, who did we appoint? The former lord mayor of Adelaide because of his obvious connections with China. An outstanding envoy to China, still doing a great job. And we did not advertise it because we got the best available. And so who did we appoint to be our special envoy to India? First of all, we had Darren Lehmann, who was there doing ambassadorial work and it was a fantastic success. Did not advertise it. Did not say we wanted a vice captain of the Australian cricket team. And 'Boof' was brilliant at the job—a different kind of 'Boof' to members opposite.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: The key thing is that we then appointed to India QC Brian Hayes. Brian Hayes: born in India, Anglo-Indian, knows everybody in the parliament, the ministry and business, people like the head of Tarter Industries, people like the heads of Reliance Industries. Did not advertise it. We got a really good person, the best available. And for Italy, what we did is we grabbed someone who had been eight years as the chief scientific attaché, a senior diplomat in Canberra for Italy who was honoured by—wait for it—John Winston Howard because of his work in furthering Australian-Italian relations. So, we did not go out and advertise for John Olsen, Brian Hayes or any of these, we grabbed the best people available.