BURNSIDE COUNCIL

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (15:02): On 26 July 2011, with regard to the Burnside council report, the Minister for State/Local Government Relations stated:

I considered that I was not prepared to spend millions of dollars of taxpayers' money on a report that could take years to complete (if it ever was completed), so I made the decision to terminate the investigation.

Will the minister consider asking Mr Ken MacPherson to complete the report if private funding, rather than taxpayer money, could be secured to pay for the report?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:03): I made the decision to terminate the Burnside investigation for a number of reasons. What Mr Darley has just put up is hypothetical. What I would say to him is that that investigation has been terminated, and my position right at this moment is: no, I would not reopen it, but I am quite open. If John Darley could come up with someone who is prepared to spend millions of dollars to complete that investigation—

The Hon. S.G. Wade: How do you know it's going to cost millions?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: —because whoever would invest millions on it would do due diligence and they would find out very quickly that it was not worth spending the money on.