Question Time

ADELAIDE OVAL

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:40): My question, as it happens, is to the Treasurer. What is the latest estimate of the cost of the Adelaide Oval redevelopment?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Minister for Transport.

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for MacKillop, you are on your second warning.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON (Elder—Minister for Transport, Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:40): How pleased I am to have a question on this subject. I note immediately the interjections from the member for MacKillop who actually led the no vote at SACA. He did better than three this time. As has been explained—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Now the member for MacKillop is holding himself up against the person who has been a minister for nine years as a model of political success. I mean, for goodness sake!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: What is happening here is that members of the opposition, having canvassed a no vote in SACA, and having failed, are now going to seek to undermine the project another way. They lack insight.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Here we go, Madam Speaker.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: If you want to talk about Adelaide Oval all day, all question time I am more than happy. We will extend question time for you, because let me tell you what happened last night. You nay-sayers were routed.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: You were driven like leaves before the wind.

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister for Transport, sit down.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Point of order, member for Stuart.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Madam Speaker, standing order 98: he is debating; he is ranting; he is raving; he is carrying on like a lunatic.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! You have made your point of order. You are now debating also. Minister for Transport, I direct you back to the answer to the question.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I make the point, Madam Speaker—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: —if people want me not to debate perhaps they should not engage in such unruly behaviour.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Ask the member for Norwood. He has finished being an expert on—

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Norwood—

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The polymath from Norwood.

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister will get back to the question.

Mr Williams interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The cost of the Adelaide Oval—why don't you take your three votes from your leadership and your 2,463 from SACA and shut up for a while?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister is now going to answer the question.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Okay, you be silent and I will answer the question.

The Hon. K.O. Foley: But I bet you'll be there for the opening!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: He will be there for the opening, don't you worry about that! Regarding the cost of Adelaide Oval: in our discussions with those people, and can I say we now have something like five expressions of interest in the process to build Adelaide Oval—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: —which will proceed to a short list in a more formal tender process and will finish with one or two people as early contractors, before we finally finish with a final early contractor and a finalised price. What we do know in the discussions with those people is that they believe that the money that the government has made available may well be, and they believe will be, sufficient to pay—

Members interjecting:

Mr Marshall: Such confidence.

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Norwood, you are on your second warning—I would be very careful.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I liked you better in the Marx Brothers movies. Look at the haircut.

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister will get back to the question.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: You're just like Chico Marx, except you're not funny.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Point of order, member for Finniss.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I want to hear the point of order.

Mr PENGILLY: Thank you—127, ma'am: personal reflection on the member.

The SPEAKER: Yes, I know what it is. It was questionable, but I will let him go this time. The minister will now answer the question and move on.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I will; I will. It is interesting that we have Mr Bean leaping to the defence.

The SPEAKER: Order, the minister!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The truth is that the final cost for the oval will not be determined until we get that process through with the contractors. What I can say is that the extent of the South Australian taxpayers' contribution is and will be $535 million—that is all.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I'm not really fussed if you don't like that answer, I have to say, because I am more than happy to talk about this all day—in fact, I might.

An honourable member: Bring it on!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Bring it on! The only political skills some of these people have are that they don't know when they're in pain. As I have said, the process to date indicates, in our discussions, that we are about the mark in terms of the cost. What we also know is that, through the good work—

Mr Venning interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Poor old Ivan. We will not know exactly until we go on. But, through the good work of this government, what we do know—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Then the fake laughter. All the great techniques of a quality opposition—the fake laughter! What we do know—

Mr Pengilly: Forty-four per cent was it, Patrick?

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: What's that?

Mr Pengilly: Forty-four per cent.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: You want to talk about polls—80.3 per cent, mate. You were in the 19.7; we were in the 80.3. Led by great South Australians like John Olsen, Ian McLachlan, Rob Kerin. John Howard loved it; Alexander Downer loved it. What is the difference between them and the opposition? They had a career; they did something. So, who will I listen to? I will go with the Libs who did something, not these pathetic people. The final price will not be known. But, I repeat, because of the good work of this government, we know that the AFL will also be contributing to this stadium.

As I have said, our early indications are that we are very much about the mark to build this stadium. There will not be any further taxpayers' money go into this stadium. What this stadium will trigger is a massive redevelopment on our riverfront precinct, a bridge over the Torrens—a great big bridge—that will deliver people to public transport and car parking. Billions of dollars of development over the years there—a return of north of $100 million a year to the city. So, we are quite pleased that that $535 million investment by us will trigger what is the biggest game challenger—

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: —this city has ever seen.

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister will sit down. A point of order.

Mr WILLIAMS: Thank you, Madam Speaker. The point of order is standing order 98—relevance. The question was: what is the latest estimate of the cost of the project?

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I'm done.

The SPEAKER: The minister is done. I think you are about a minute and a half too late with your point of order; I thought he was digressing a little earlier than that. The member for Florey.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!