Member for Frome, Government Agreement

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (16:24): A further supplementary, sir.

The SPEAKER: A further supplementary; the leader

Mr MARSHALL: When the Premier made that commitment to the member for Frome during negotiations subsequent to the election, did he undertake any due diligence or seek any Treasury or crown law advice that would help him in making that decision which has, clearly, further encumbered our state in terms of the commitment that was made to the member for Frome?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (16:25): I am not going to go into any of the details of the nature of the communications we gave at that stage. Suffice to say that I think the member for Frome was seeking to understand the state government's position in relation to this very important matter and we were very pleased to do that. It should go without saying that any of the commitments that I made as leader of the Labor Party at that point—because we were in caretaker mode and we could not commit the government—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —were made on the basis of the best available advice that I was able to avail myself of, always motivated by what was in the best interest of South Australia and, in particular, what was in the interest of this crucial region of South Australia.

I cannot imagine that those opposite would suggest that we as a government would have done anything other than used every possible endeavour to secure the future of Nyrstar, because that goes to the heart of securing the future of Port Pirie. The costs and damage associated with the inability of securing the future for Nyrstar would be astronomical. It is unimaginable that we would walk away from the opportunity to clean up Port Pirie by getting this new technology to not only avoid the closure of Port Pirie but secure a bright and prosperous future for that enterprise and the future of Port Pirie.

The SPEAKER: Owing to interjections during that answer, I call the deputy leader and the member for Unley to order. The member for Goyder.