Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (15:00): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier consult with the opposition about the terms of reference for the River Murray royal commission and the appointment of a commissioner as his predecessor, John Bannon, did when establishing the State Bank royal commission?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for the Arts) (15:00): Yes, I will be consulting about the terms of reference, and I am happy to consult also about our proposed choice for the royal commissioner. In fact, I will do better than that: we will be intending, once we have finalised the terms of reference after making a request for some public input into the shape of those terms of reference, to publish a draft set of terms of reference. The draft set of terms of reference will probably be made formal by letters patent in the new year so that the work of the royal commissioner can commence in earnest in the new year. There are a range of reviews and almost all of them I think have been completed now.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I am trying to answer a serious question in a serious fashion. I am getting interjected on by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, sir, so if I could perhaps have a bit of—

The SPEAKER: I warn the deputy leader.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It is our intention to provide input from the opposition, of course, but also from the broader community, and we will commence that process later this week. We are more than happy to share our thoughts with the Leader of the Opposition or anybody else in the parliament who may be interested.

We are wanting to choose an eminent jurist, who will have broad respect across the nation, to carry out an inquiry of this sort because it does need to have the gravitas necessary to have an impact on a national basis. This is a national river. South Australia has been held up as a moral exemplar in relation to its treatment of the river, and so it has to conduct itself in an exemplary fashion if it is to have that influence across the nation. That includes how we construct the terms of reference, who we appoint and the processes we adopt.