Nuclear Waste

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL (15:16): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking questions of the Leader of the Government, representing the Premier, about nuclear waste.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL: The House of Assembly is currently considering a bill to repeal section 13 of the Nuclear Waste Storage Facility (Prohibition) Act 2000. The Legislative Council will presumably consider this bill in coming weeks. Section 13 is the section that prohibits the use of public money to, 'encourage or finance any activity associated with the construction or operation of a nuclear waste storage facility in this state'.

If section 13 is repealed, it will be open to the government, through ministers, public servants and agencies, to actively promote South Australia as a destination for the world's high-level nuclear waste. It will enable advertising campaigns aimed at convincing South Australians that their future lies in becoming the world's nuclear waste dump. It will enable ministers, public servants and agencies to commence detailed planning and design work in preparation for the building of a nuclear waste dump in South Australia. It will also enable the government to appropriate money though the budget or seek loans or other finance for the building of a nuclear waste dump in South Australia.

Remarkably, the bill before the other place is retrospective in its operation, meaning that if it passes into law unamended, any breach of section 13 that occurred after yesterday will be retrospectively excused. On Monday evening on ABC radio, the Premier addressed the question of possible breaches of section 13 both before and after the royal commission hands down its final report on 6 May as follows:

....if we're in this phase of having this discussion, does section 13 provide or present any difficulties for us, and we had to ask the same question about establishing a royal commission proper and even that question wasn't 100 per cent clear but on balance, the—our advice from the Solicitor-General was that the royal commission didn't fall foul of this provision but as we move into the next phase where we've having a much more substantial debate, where government ministers may be advancing arguments in favour of this proposition, once we get into that phase, then it could be argued that public money you spend is spent to encourage such a thing and we wouldn't want to be in breach of our own legislation, so it's important that that be dealt with.

My questions are:

1. Which ministers or agencies have already breached section 13?

2. Which particular ministers or agencies is the repeal of section 13 designed to protect?

3. Which of his ministers is the Premier most afraid have already fallen foul of section 13 or are likely to do so in coming months?

4. What will happen if the government's bill is not passed but ministers act as if it has? Will those ministers be prosecuted?

5. Will the Premier release the Solicitor-General's advice, as he promised to do during the interview on Monday evening?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (15:20): I thank the honourable member for his questions and I will refer those questions to the minister in another place and bring back a reply.