BURNSIDE COUNCIL

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:34): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking questions of the Minister for State/Local Government Relations relating to Burnside council.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: This week a candidate for election to the Burnside council received advice that the government has refused the candidate's request to be released from a confidentiality agreement relating to the draft report of the investigation into the Burnside council. My questions are:

1. How does the government justify the government's refusal, given the need for candidates to be able to maintain their reputation in an election campaign?

2. As an alternative, will the government consider crown law and candidates negotiating statements of agreed facts so that Burnside electors can have as much information as possible before they vote?

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): An outrageous proposition! The answers are quite straightforward, really. In terms of the request for release from the confidentiality agreement, I received advice in relation to that and based this decision on that advice, and the advice was that, no, it was inadvisable to do so. In relation to the second outrageous proposition, no.