House of Assembly: Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Contents

CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:31): My question is again to the Premier. Why does Cranfield University no longer offer any courses or employ any staff at the South Australian campus? Yesterday, the Premier's office advised, in relation to Cranfield University:

Unfortunately there's nothing offered at the moment. The office itself in the interim has closed and is unstaffed and therefore no courses are being offered here in Adelaide.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

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) (14:31): Once again, it is quite clear there is a real anti-university push within the Liberal Party.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr PISONI: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Point of order.

Mr PISONI: The Premier is reflecting on members, and I ask him to withdraw.

The SPEAKER: No, he is not reflecting individually. Premier, continue your answer.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: As I tried to explain before—before I was shouted down—there is not a Cranfield campus. There was an office here that, during its three years, organised—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —short executive courses on a whole range of things, including Introduction to Electronic Warfare, Logistics Engineering, Integrated Logistics Support, Introduction to Modelling and Simulation of Defence Systems, Introduction to Electronic Warfare, a workshop on resilience in Australia, Explosives Safety Management, and so on. So it organised—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Pardon?

Mr Pisoni: Introduction to Adelaide—have you got that one?

The Hon. M.D. RANN: It's very interesting—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —last time it was Martin Hamilton-Smith making his big comeback. He was running the joint. There was a bit of tension, I am told, about who would ask the first or second questions. There was a bit of a rise and fall of the former leader.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: The fact of the matter is that they have organised short courses and, because we wanted to draw on their intellectual expertise from Britain, we have relationships now built with the existing universities. There wasn't a campus.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Norwood!