Employment Figures

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop) (14:21): My further supplementary question to the Premier is: does the Premier accept that the government's sale of the forests in the South-East and the subsequent export of logs has had any impact on unemployment in the South-East?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:21): No, I don't actually. In fact, I saw some statistics recently that suggest that one of the growth areas in manufacturing is actually in wood and wood products. So, not only is there no evidence of there being a deleterious effect of the sale, it seems that, if anything, that sector seems to be growing. I will look more carefully at those statistics, because they were surprising to me, I must say, but there just simply is no evidence that the sale has had that effect.

In fact, one only needs to look at the fires that occurred in the forests in the Mid North to know the sort of risks that we bear as a government in actually holding onto forests of that sort. If you asked the question today, 'Would the government start up a business in forests?', the answer would be no. It was an important industry back in the day when it was started, I think by a Labor government, to actually support the building industry, and it has been an important part of South Australia's economic future, but if you asked us today whether we would be starting a business in forests, I think the answer is no.

Do we have the balance sheet capacity to grow and expand the ambition for the forests? No. Does a private sector company that has come in and invested in the forests have the capacity and willingness to do that? Yes, and they are doing that. I think this is securing the South-East's economic future, and it is indeed surprising to hear the modern Liberal Party hankering back to what was essentially a Labor Party initiative after the turn of the last century, which was necessary at that time but does not meet modern circumstances.

Mr GARDNER: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: Point of order, member for Morialta?

Mr GARDNER: The Premier has been defying you for 19 minutes now: standing order 98.

The SPEAKER: Only 19 minutes? The Premier is finished? The member for Chaffey.