Arrium

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:28): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier inform the house what specific measures the state government has or will offer to Arrium and its administrators in order to secure the futures of Whyalla and those affected by the possible closure of the steel plant and the mine?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:28): No, we won't be doing that because we are negotiating in detail those specific measures with both the commonwealth government and the administrators, and it would not serve the interests of the people of Whyalla to publicly speculate about them.

I have been speaking in the last few days with both the Prime Minister and the industry minister. We have met, of course, with our own advisers. We are entertaining a very substantial proposition that has been put to us by the administrators, but we have to realise that we are also negotiating in the context of a federal election where we need to have both the federal government and the federal opposition committing to this proposition. We also, frankly, want to see a contribution by both the banks and any potential future purchaser. We don't believe that this is something that should be borne solely by the South Australian or the Australian taxpayer, but we are more than happy to brief the opposition about this matter, just as we have briefed his federal counterparts.