BURNSIDE COUNCIL

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (14:30): Supplementary to the minister's answer with respect to his raising the office of public integrity/ICAC, does the minister feel confident, as the minister for local government, to refer matters to the new office for public integrity/ICAC, which only has a budget of $4 million—

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: It's not an ICAC.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: Well, they're saying it's an ICAC.

The PRESIDENT: Order! No explanation.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: It only has a budget of $4 million, when the Burnside investigation cost over $1.2 million.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:31): I thank the honourable member—

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: On a point of order, I may be wrong, but my understanding is that when supplementary questions are asked they are to be asked on the original answer and not on answers to supplementaries. I suggest that you rule the question out of order.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I have not made a ruling on the point of order yet. The Hon. Mr Hunter has a very good point. Too many people are asking supplementaries with explanation. You must direct the supplementary straight to the question. The minister can answer if he wishes.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: The issue with the office of public integrity is the fact that, in future, instead of a very expensive inquiry going into allegations in local government, there are two things we want to do: first, I will work with the Local Government Association to ensure they have the tools to handle these little issues and the bickering between councils at the local level, instead of coming to me or the government.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: You people supported the inquiry, the investigation. Then you have complained. The funny thing about it is that you are complaining about the cost, yet you wanted me to continue the report and spend another $1 million. This is the hypocritical position you people have taken. You sit on the fence, you throw rocks while the government is trying to sort out the problems with Burnside—

The Hon. A. Bressington: It's a cover up.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: Will you please let me finish the point?

The Hon. A. Bressington: No, I will not.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: Okay, that's all right.