Kangaroo Island Wharf Facility

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:50): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier please afford the house with that reference in the documentation, as he just offered?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:51): I am happy to read from page 305 of the Hansard:

I have referred throughout the submissions to the requirements of procedural fairness and I refer in more detail to the requirements of procedural fairness in the written submissions, but I do note that the Attorney-General has proposed through her counsel to provide submissions following the making of submissions by me, and I think a timetable has been set by the Chair for that. If there was any issue arising on which the committee considered that reply submissions were needed, that is a matter that also could be addressed before the committee actually deliberates on the findings that the committee proposes to make.

I should also make the point that until the submissions are received by the Attorney and the committee is given a chance to consider those submissions, obviously the committee would not go about and commence its fact-finding function or making findings within the terms of reference until all the submissions had been received, including those of the Attorney-General.

That is pages 305 and 306.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Leader, please be seated; member for Colton, please be seated. Members, I draw your attention to standing order 259. Having this standing order to hand, I nevertheless allowed some debate to occur to ensure that I also had before me the nature and scope of some of that debate. Standing order 259 provides that in relation to proceedings of a committee, they are not to be debated until, of course, there is a report of the committee. I read this standing order to the house:

No debate may take place on any proceedings of a committee of the whole house or a select committee—

my emphasis—

on a bill until the proceedings have been reported.

Before coming to question time today, I have also taken the opportunity to reflect on earlier decisions made by Speakers in relation to this matter. The hard fact is that those precedents establish that any reflection in this place on proceedings of a committee that is yet to report are to be ruled out of order by me.

As I said, because of the significant nature of the public business that the leader and the Premier have addressed I have allowed some debate to continue, but I now firmly emphasise that standing order and draw members' attention to it. The member for Colton has the call.