House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Desalination Plant DESALINATION PLANT Ms CHAPMAN House of Assembly Bragg DESALINATION PLANT Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (15:02): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier instruct the Minister for Water to table the Adelaide desalination plant operation and management contract? Two years ago, the opposition applied for access to the operation and maintenance contract to better understand what the government had locked us into but was denied access. After reviewing the decision, the Ombudsman said publishing the document would be in the public interest but that it could not be published because the government had inserted a confidentiality clause in it. However, the Ombudsman also said that that did not prevent the minister from tabling the document in parliament. Members interjecting: The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly Colton Minister for Sustainability Minister for Water and the River Murray Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:03): Well, a bit like your leadership over there—put that out for consultation as well. Mr Marshall interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: Who did you vote for, Steven? The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Minister, you don't refer to members by their names. The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: I'm sorry, Madam Speaker, but I am responding to interjections. The Hon. I.F. EVANS House of Assembly The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Point of order, Madam Speaker: the minister is upset Peter Malinauskas got to visit Mr Rann and he didn't! The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! You will sit down. We will not have frivolous points of order. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Minister. The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: I apologise for my unruly behaviour, but really they are an undisciplined rabble, Madam Speaker, with respect to the level of interjections that are always coming. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: And sometimes I just have no choice but to respond. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! You will get back to the question now, minister. Members interjecting: The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: I am standing up. I am very pleased, Madam Speaker, that he is another one—every player wins a prize and he has got one. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: He is now the parliamentary secretary assisting— The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, you will sit down. Ms CHAPMAN House of Assembly Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order, Madam Speaker— The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: If your point of order is answering the question— Ms CHAPMAN House of Assembly Ms CHAPMAN: In the remaining minute, can I have an answer? The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Yes, minister, you will answer the question now. The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: Of course, Madam Speaker, I do feel sorry for those who have not won a prize, particularly the one who is sitting at the back who is by far their best performer. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Minister, back to the question. The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: In relation to this particular question— Mr Pengilly interjecting: The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: There is another one that didn't win a prize. The most vocal over there are the ones who did not win a prize. Mr Pengilly interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Finniss, do you want to go for a walk? An honourable member interjecting: The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: I am not wound up at all, but I will say this: confidentiality clauses are a matter between two parties, not just inserted by a government. They would be— The Hon. P.F. Conlon House of Assembly The Hon. P.F. Conlon: It's the nature of the contract. The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: That's right. It is the nature of the contract that relates to— Ms Chapman interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Listen to the minister's answer; you have been asking for it. The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: She is getting wound up. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: She is getting emotional and wound up. An honourable member interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: He is answering the question now. Minister. The Hon. P. CAICA House of Assembly The Hon. P. CAICA: I am attempting to answer the question. The nature of a confidentiality clause is exactly that: that information will remain confidential. That has been cited for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is ensuring that those arrangements do not compromise the way in which business is being done but, just as importantly, do not compromise the way by which business will be done in the future in South Australia with respect to contracts between business and government.