Question Time

Gillman Land Sale

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:04): My question is to the Premier. Why did the Premier tell the house yesterday that 'no cabinet in the Westminster system releases cabinet documents' when cabinet documents were made available to the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption for the Gillman inquiry?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for Consumer and Business Services, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (14:04): The question relates to a particular matter, and I think it's necessary for us to recall the circumstances of this matter so that—

Mr van Holst Pellekaan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Stuart is called to order.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: It's probably useful for us to remember the circumstances of this matter. In relation to the Gillman inquiry—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: They are either interested in it or they are not. I'm not provoking them, Mr Speaker; I'm just standing here quietly.

The SPEAKER: No, you are not provoking them other than by your silence, and I don't think it's very provocative today—

The Hon. J.R. RAU: No.

The SPEAKER: —as your silences go.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Thank you very much. As I was saying, the history of this matter is that there was litigation which involved basically, to use neutral terms, business competitors or commercial competitors, who were not happy with the—

Ms Chapman: You were the minister for urban planning.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Yes, and I am trying to answer the question, if you would all just keep quiet for a minute. What happened was that ACP, who were the parties who were involved in that arrangement, had some commercial competitors who were dissatisfied with the arrangement and who took them to the Supreme Court. The matter was then heard by Justice Blue who, in the course of those proceedings, sought to obtain certain documents from the government, which were essentially cabinet documents.

The government maintained the position that those were cabinet documents and that those documents were not the sort of material that should be made available, by reason of a very longstanding and hardly arcane constitutional proposition that what happens in cabinet should be a private matter. Indeed, the members of the Executive Council swear an oath upon being sworn in to the effect that they will maintain confidentiality about matters that are dealt with in cabinet. What happened then was that some material which was, when it is properly analysed, cabinet material, notwithstanding the government's objection, and wound up being provided to the Supreme Court.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: The Supreme Court gave directions in respect of certain documents, which included cabinet material, requiring the material to be provided to Justice Blue. There is a significant material difference between what the Premier was talking about yesterday, which was the executive government handing over cabinet documents to people who ask for them, and the executive government wilfully disobeying an order of the Supreme Court. There is a light year of difference between those two propositions, so there is no inconsistency.

The SPEAKER: Before we have the next question, I call to order the deputy leader, the leader, the members for Hartley, Chaffey, Kavel and MacKillop, and I warn for the first time the deputy leader, the leader and the member for Hartley. Leader.