House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Answers to Questions Answers to Questions Conservation Council Conservation Council The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS House of Assembly Black Leader of the Opposition Conservation Council 21 The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (29 August 2023). What is the total cost, incurred in 2022-23 and budgeted for 2023-24, of the Department for Environment and Water challenging the Ombudsman's ruling to release to the opposition the contract and associated documents for the Conservation Council of SA? The Hon. S.E. CLOSE House of Assembly Port Adelaide Deputy Premier Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Minister for Defence and Space Industries Minister for Climate, Environment and Water Minister for Workforce and Population Strategy Conservation Council The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water): I have been advised: The department did not make a determination on the FOI application within the statutory time frames. Mr Speirs subsequently submitted an external review application to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman made a determination on the external review. The department has submitted an application to Soth Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to review the decision of the Ombudsman as further information is available that wasn't before the Ombudsman at the time of his determination. The department has incurred legal costs of $7,999.20 in 2022-23 in relation to the SACAT proceedings. There is no specific budget allocated for this matter.