BUILDING ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:44): Can the minister explain the interesting coincidence that the Chairman of the Building Advisory Committee is a consultant to all the councils from which he has received complaints (that he has made public to us)—Port Adelaide, Onkaparinga, Marion and the Barossa?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (14:44): It is quite clear from where this information comes. Again, I make the point that I hope that the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors—particularly since it has not made a decision on it yet—would act professionally and—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: The individual whom the honourable member is talking about is a member of that institute. I think, from memory, that we have about 28 building surveyors in this state (or something of that order). Some of them have accreditation for engineering structures and some of them do not, and some of them are level 1 and some are level 2. There is not a particularly large number. I will check out the actual number and bring it back. It is therefore not surprising that those senior building surveyors who have accreditation would do work for councils; for whom else would they do work? If you are a building surveyor most of your work, as a private certifier, will involve councils. That is what you do—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: I am trying to explain that it is not a coincidence, that it is not unbelievable—in fact, it is highly likely. There is only a handful of senior building surveyors, and that particular individual is one of those who has engineering qualifications (not all of them do). As I understand it, he is a life fellow of the institute; I believe he is also a part-time commissioner on the ERD Court. I am sure someone that well qualified would be used by councils.

That is why I continued his appointment. I believe he has been a member of the Building Advisory Committee for some time; he certainly predated me becoming a minister. He has the appropriate qualifications and, given how few people there are, I am not the least surprised that he works for a number of councils.