Mining Legislation

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (14:43): Given the minister's answer, will the minister now brief his colleague the member for MacKillop on the extensive consultation he has conducted? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The member for MacKillop stated publicly this morning, and I quote:

Before coming into Government, [we] promised a consultation process with a key region and that would be the Yorke Peninsula with the proposed Copper mine and developments there and this has not happened.

So, when the Minister puts the papers on the party room tables on a Monday afternoon without any consultation to the Member for Narungga…and doesn't have the consultation process that he thought was due then that's when I said: [and I quote] 'Oh dear…this is not how it's meant to work. This is not how this process is meant to work at all.'

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Those facts can only be introduced for the purpose of asking the question.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left and right! There was a lot in that question. I'm not going to be taking points of order for debate unless there is a pretty extreme case. The minister has the call and he will be heard in silence.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:44): The quote that the member opposite used—he started off by saying 'quote' and then in the middle of it he said 'quote' again, so I don't know how exactly how much of it was a quote or how much—

Ms Stinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Badcoe can leave for half an hour under 137A, please.

The honourable member for Badcoe having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: I don't know how much of it was a quote, how much of it wasn't a quote or whether he got lost reading his own handwriting.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Premier, please.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Is the Leader of the Opposition whistling? If he does it again, he will be leaving today. The minister has the call.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: The reality is that we have been discussing this issue—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: —for a long time, internally and externally. I can tell you, given that the member opposite asked a question specifically in reference to the member for MacKillop, the member for MacKillop and I are talking very regularly about this. When the member for West Torrens asks will I now explain to him this, that and the other, I can assure you that we are talking about this all the time.

All of us are dealing with these things and we do so respectfully, considerately, collegiately and we work through the issues. That is exactly what we are doing, no problem at all. Do you know what, Mr Speaker? We know that if a Labor MP dared to say anything against the party or a minister, that person would be lost somewhere in Port Adelaide with concrete boots. They would be gone, never to be seen again.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Turkish embassy style.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: On our side—

Mr Patterson interjecting:

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

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: —we work through these things. Without wanting to reflect upon a bill in front of the house—

The SPEAKER: Thank you.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: —if it happens to be that a bill has the support of 21 of 25 members of parliament, we keep working through it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: We are not ashamed of that. The member for MacKillop and I are working very constructively on this. It does not bother him that I speak as the minister and it does not bother me that he speaks as the member for MacKillop.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The leader is on two warnings. The leader is close to the edge today.