BURNSIDE COUNCIL

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (14:35): Thank you, Mr President. Yesterday, minister, you mentioned that, during the period of natural justice, people named in the report would be given the opportunity to read that report, and you also mentioned that some of those people may need legal advice. Is it the intention of the government to pay for that legal advice?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (14:35): To the best of my knowledge, no. As I said, I am only speculating as I have had no official information about this. The information I gave yesterday—and I didn't say 'I don't believe,' I actually said 'read the report'—was that I am not too sure what the natural justice component constitutes.

However, my understanding is that, where the investigator has findings where a person is named or identified in that way, the person has some opportunity to respond to those findings; exactly how that is done I don't know, and I would not want to put any detail on that. In terms of how an individual might respond, again I have received no information regarding what individuals might require. We have certainly received no requests for legal assistance, and I doubt that it would be appropriate for the government to provide that even if it were asked.

The PRESIDENT: I advise the honourable member that tolerance was shown by the President because that should have been a supplementary question out of yesterday's answer.