Lot Fourteen

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:29): My question is to the Acting Premier. Did all tenancies at the Lot Fourteen site go out to public tender and were they issued at market rates?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (14:29): The Lot Fourteen tenancy arrangement has been the subject of a number of cabinet discussions, so I won't go into those. In respect of the process—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Lee is warned.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —that applied to the tender, I will obtain particular details in relation to that, but I confirm what the minister has advised the house, and that is the very special interest the Premier has taken in relation to Lot Fourteen. Why? Because he, like the rest of us on this side of the house, has been appalled by the abandonment of this site for 10 years since the former government made a decision to build a new hospital at the other end of North Terrace and did nothing—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Lee!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —to make a decision about what would be placed on this site—did nothing except have two competitions. They paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to have two competitions for which submissions were sought on what other people thought they might like to put on this site.

Then we had announcements from the former minister for health, the Hon. John Hill, who has now left the parliament. He wanted to consider having a boutique hotel there for a while. That lasted about a day until I think he was shut down by former premier Rann on that idea. They did nothing. They did absolutely nothing on this site. The Premier realises, and he has made it very clear to our government, the significance of this site and the importance of ensuring that it is utilised. It is a public asset. Significant public money has been spent on it.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for West Torrens!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: Activity in relation to bringing down and cleaning up that site has been undertaken under this government's watch, and we are very proud of it.

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell: He's not here to defend himself.

The SPEAKER: The member for Mawson is warned for a second and final time.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: The Premier maintains the commitment that this site, this public site on which substantial public money has been spent, will remain a very significant public asset for future South Australians.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is warned. I want to point out to members that, whilst ministers should not engage in things that are irrelevant—and I am not implying that they are—they may, however, contrast the actions of the former government with the current government. Former Speakers have found the same. However, I am keeping a close eye that they do not go too far from the substance of the question. The member for MacKillop has the call.