House of Assembly Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1) 53 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time ForestrySA ForestrySA Mr BELL House of Assembly Mount Gambier ForestrySA Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (14:45): My question is to the Minister for Forests. When was the minister first advised that there would be job losses at ForestrySA, and who provided that advice? The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL House of Assembly Mawson Minister for Agriculture Minister for Forests Minister for Tourism Minister for Recreation and Sport Minister for Racing ForestrySA The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Recreation and Sport, Minister for Racing) (14:45): I thank the member for Mount Gambier for the question. I was first advised by ForestrySA that it had a proposal to cut about 95 or 96 jobs from ForestrySA—that was about the day before we met in your office in Mount Gambier—and then we had subsequent discussions four days after that. As I have said, that's a proposition; there is obviously opposition to that proposition. What I am keen to do, as I mentioned just before the break, is to work with each and every member in this place to make sure that we as a state have the most economically viable decisions made across all the sectors I have responsibility for. I give you my undertaking again that I will continue to work with you, with the private sector and with the unions to make sure that the ForestrySA future is very bright. There were commitments made over the last several years by ministers, and we will stick to those commitments. As the Treasurer said, we don't run away from our promises; we will stick with them. But I think that we shouldn't also run away from a discussion that probably needs to be had about the future of ForestrySA and the future of the South-East. Unlike a lot of people, I am very optimistic about the place where I grew up. I think that the South-East has a very bright future and, as I have said, I will continue to work with you, member for Mount Gambier, and others in this place to ensure a bright future for the South-East.