FORESTRYSA

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (15:08): My question is again to the Premier. How will the Premier consult and decide during his upcoming trip to Mount Gambier, given that he supports the selling of the harvest rights to the state's forests, and will he guarantee the people of the South-East that there will be no job losses as a result of that sale?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (15:08): If you are going to quote me, at least get it right: it's debate and decide, but anyway, let's not be fussed about terms. The basic point is this: I am going down to the South-East because the community wants me to go there and listen to their concerns. I can solve—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I can solve a lot of your problems and answer a lot of your questions by saying that there are a whole range of government decisions that have been taken, decisions that I have been part of and decisions that we have been making over a number of years now, that will remain in place. There is no suggestion that they will be—

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Yes, that will be one that will remain in place until it has changed, and there is no proposal to change it. I will be speaking with the community down there; I will be listening to their points of view.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Well, we think there is some value in listening to the community, explaining your position. Sometimes we won't agree with every community that we do speak to. I think there is a bit of a misunderstanding by those opposite about the idea of consultation, or the idea of listening to points of view, that somehow that means abdicating the function of leadership to a point. It doesn't. We are elected to make decisions, and sometimes some of those decisions can't be made with a broad amount of consultation. Some decisions, like designing budgets—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: There is an obvious point to be made—that budgets can't be designed in Victoria Square. We don't bring out the butcher paper and start designing some of those decisions in a public process. There are some decisions that we as a cabinet must take amongst ourselves.

We do the best we can with the information we have to gather the views and perspectives of the community. That is why we have a cabinet. That is why we seek to replicate around the cabinet table the best points of view. Do we always get it right? No. Do we get it right a lot of the time? I would say yes, and I think the reason why we are in the position we are in this state is because we have made a range of good decisions over the last almost 10 years in this state, and I am proud to have been part of them.

The SPEAKER: The member for Croydon.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!