Riverbank Precinct

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:25): I have a supplementary question. Is the minister suggesting that the Riverbank Authority will not be consulted regarding the proposals for the development of the Festival Plaza?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Industrial Relations) (14:26): Can I just make this clear: the situation is that the Riverbank Authority presently has Mr McEvoy as the designated chair of that authority. I have met with Mr McEvoy on several occasions and he is completely informed about what we are doing and, indeed, is somebody to whom I have spoken on several occasions about this, so he is in no way out of the loop. In fact, most recently, I spoke to him on Thursday at a meeting with him. I believe he has also met with other ministers responsible for the area. I think my colleague the Minister for Infrastructure has also met with him.

Any suggestion that there is some business about keeping Mr McEvoy removed from the thing is completely false. He is involved in what is going on and at the moment there are certain works in progress involving the finalisation of what is going on in that part of the world and Mr McEvoy is involved in those matters as well, so he is not being left out and he is not being excluded. However, it is not the case that his role is such that he is a critical precondition for us to be able to proceed. He is being involved as matter of courtesy and his involvement, I have to say, has been helpful but it is not a case that it is a fundamental prerequisite for anything to occur there that Mr McEvoy says yes or no.