CONSULTANTS AND CONTRACTORS

In reply to Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (7 October 2010) (Estimates Committee A).

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development): I have been advised of the following:

Care must be taken when comparing consultant and contractor expenditure between financial years. This is because much of this category of expenditure relates to once off initiatives that do not generally span more than one year. That said, some further detail of the components of this expenditure for 2008-09 and 2009-10 is provided.

Expenditure on consultants in 2009-10 of $2.322 million is higher than the $1.784 million reported in 2008-09. The higher expenditure in 2009-10 is mainly attributable to higher consultancy services for the River Murray High Court Challenge and the provision of services associated with the Renewable Energy Fund which commenced in 2009-10.

Expenditure on contractors in 2009-10 of $4.461 million is higher than the $2.824 million incurred in 2008-09. The higher expenditure in 2009-10 includes costs associated with event management of the 9^th Australian Performing Arts Market and the 2009 and 2010 Spirit Festivals, project management of SafeWork SA's relocation to World Park 1, a review on the future management of remote infrastructure services in Aboriginal communities and corporate governance training in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands.