MANUFACTURING, INNOVATION, TRADE, RESOURCES AND ENERGY DEPARTMENT

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite) (14:43): Supplementary, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Member for Waite.

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: Given the Premier's reply, is this direction to Mr Knight that he must 'keep his views to himself in future', a restraint or an order that might apply to any evidence the CEO may give to a parliamentary committee or to parliament during budget estimates; and, if so, is the Premier concerned that this might be a breach of privilege?

The SPEAKER: That is not a supplementary but I will allow it as a question. Before the Premier rises to answer that, I warn the member for Heysen for the first time for her interjections during the previous answer, which were plentiful. The Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:44): No, of course it does not amount to a restriction on him making comments to relevant bodies where he has an obligation to provide answers to questions—of course it does not. It is simply counselling him to not enter into matters of political controversy which involve national economic policy issues. I would have thought it was certainly something that those on the other side—if they ever were in the Treasury benches—would never tolerate, and did not tolerate when they were in government, and it is appropriate that they do not tolerate it, because it is just simply inconsistent with the role of a public servant.

That is not to say that public servants will not from time to time offer fearless and frank advice to us on a confidential basis, and sometimes there may also be appropriate circumstances where they express views which may be matters of opinion that they advance but, generally speaking—and we do not seek to restrain them in that regard—it is inadvisable to be making direct comments which are inconsistent with government policy. It undermines the capacity of the government to discharge its work and, at the end of the day, public servants do actually serve the government of the day. One day these public servants will be serving you, in the eternity that may unveil itself when you actually do ultimately occupy these benches, and you will be looking for the same sorts of response by public servants in the future, should you ever be in that position.