Member for Frome, Government Agreement

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:50): Just for clarity, are you announcing to the house today—

The SPEAKER: No, is the minister announcing—

Mr MARSHALL: Is the minister announcing to the house today that, indeed, the government is going to set up a parliamentary committee for rural and regional affairs, and will we require legislation to effect that change? Can the minister provide greater detail, because it's certainly not encompassed in part of the agreement? We were only informed minutes earlier that this was the total agreement.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:50): What the minister said, if the member had listened carefully, is that there is a cabinet committee in relation to regional affairs that has been established that will be led by the minister.

Mr Marshall: Not a parliamentary committee?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: No, not a parliamentary committee: a cabinet committee. There are a number of parliamentary committees that deal with questions which touch on rural and regional affairs, including the Natural Resources Committee, including the Environment, Resources and Development Committee, including the Aboriginal lands committee and, indeed, any committee of this parliament. Whether it be the Economic and Finance Committee, the Public Works Committee or the Social Development Committee, they can, from time to time, as part of their remit, take on board rural and regional issues.

Indeed, I have requested—I made this request at our caucus meeting on Tuesday morning—that each of those committees give consideration to holding at least some of their deliberations in rural and regional areas. That was a request I made of all of the members and chairs of the committees, to the extent that we can influence those decisions. So, I think there are ample governance arrangements within the parliamentary process; that's obviously the conclusion that the member for Frome arrived at as we went through the process of negotiation concerning what should comprise the nature of our agreement.