Forestry Industry

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (14:54): Supplementary: does the minister agree or disagree that it would be better for $125 million of profit return to come to the taxpayers of South Australia this year than to go to a private company offshore?

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) (14:55): That is a hypothetical and somewhat ridiculous question. We are where we are. The forward rotations for I think it is the next four rotations have been sold, and I am glad the company is doing well. The honourable member says it is four times more profitable than it was when it was in government hands. He seems to be implicitly criticising the government workers formerly in the timber industry, and I won't abide by that either.

Having spent a lot of my life in Mount Gambier, I know that many of the workers, when the timber industry was in government hands as the old Woods and Forests, worked exceptionally hard and have done very well. I won't abide by the implicit criticism being handed out by the Hon. Robert Brokenshire. I will restate: I am very pleased that the industry is healthy in the South-East, that the towns around the South-East are doing well and that we are seeing more jobs, more shifts, more equipment and more people in the supply industry.