Legislative Council Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time South Australian Tourism Commission South Australian Tourism Commission The Hon. K.J. MAHER Legislative Council Leader of the Opposition South Australian Tourism Commission The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (15:43): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking questions to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Leave granted. The Hon. K.J. MAHER Legislative Council The Hon. K.J. MAHER: On 24 April this year, James Rickard, president of Adelaide Advertising and Design Club, said on ABC Radio Adelaide: …it's interesting to note that the Minister came out last night and said that TPWA, the successful agency, is internationally linked and therefore can help SA Tourism with their business overseas and yet that wasn't part of the tender. Having the international credentials wasn't part of the tender and nor was it part of the brief. My questions to the minister are: 1.	Will he advise if international connections or experience were part of the tender process for the lucrative contract that went to a Victorian company? 2.	Is he aware what weighting they were given in the tender process? 3.	Does he have any idea, if they weren't part of the brief, why he has been quoted as saying how important they were on radio? The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY Legislative Council Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (15:44): I thank the honourable member for his question. My understanding is that they were part of the brief. I don't believe that I made any comments in relation to the comments that Mr Rickard attributes to me. I don't believe I did. The Hon. K.J. Maher Legislative Council The Hon. K.J. Maher: Have you taken it up with him? The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY Legislative Council The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: I don't particularly— The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting: The President Legislative Council The PRESIDENT: Order! Leader of the Opposition, allow the minister to answer your question. Allow the minister to respond to your own question. The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY Legislative Council The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Thank you, Mr President, for your protection. In relation to weighting, my understanding is that the only weighting in the brief was for, I think, 15 per cent—I think it is 15 per cent but I will have to check that—for a South Australian participant, not any weighting around whether there was international capability or not. As I said, it is my understanding that weighting was only around South Australian businesses, not around any particular content, offering or capability that they had.