Regional Mining

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (14:44): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment regarding mining in regional areas.

Leave granted.

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE: On 16 October 2018, Alex Brown, a resident of Maitland, wrote to the Yorke PeninsulaCountry Times regarding the government Statutes Amendment (Mineral Resources) Bill 2018. In the article he expressed his disappointment that the Liberal Party was not delivering on a pre-election commitment by the Hon. David Ridgway to consult rural communities on his bill before it was introduced to parliament. Mr Brown states:

…David Ridgway MP made this pre-election commitment on the Liberals’ behalf. It’s disappointing this promise wasn’t kept.

My question to the minister is:

1. Why did the minister break his pre-election promise for the government to consult with regional South Australia, particularly the Yorke Peninsula community, prior to introducing the bill to parliament?

2. Is he aware that the Liberal Party member for Narungga has publicly stated he will cross the floor as a result of his pre-election promise to the community?

3. Does the minister sympathise with the difficult position he has placed the member for Narungga in?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (14:46): I thank the honourable member for her question. It is interesting that Mr Brown talked about my bill. It was never my bill. It was always and has always been, before the election, the shadow minister the Hon. Dan van Holst Pellekaan, as he is now, or just Dan van Holst Pellekaan. I said to the people of Yorke Peninsula that I expected that if we were successful in winning the election the minister for mining, which I assumed at the time would be Dan van Holst Pellekaan, would have carriage of the bill, which of course he does. He tabled it before the winter break, which I suspect is exactly the sort of consultation that we would—

The Hon. E.S. Bourke: Prior to being tabled. Prior to being tabled. They were his words, not mine.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: When you table a bill before a seven or eight-week or six-week break, that is part of the consultation. It is actually out there in the public domain.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: Exactly, and we're still consulting.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: And we're still consulting. The actual details of the bill are very much the province of the Hon. Dan van Holst Pellekaan, but we are still consulting on the bill. Until the bill finally passes this chamber—both chambers—and until we actually know the final make-up of the bill, I don't believe I have put anybody in a difficult position. I made it very clear at the time of the election.

Of course, the Hon. Ms Bourke was not actually at the meetings that I was at on Yorke Peninsula. I made it very clear that if we were lucky enough to be elected to government, the minister, the Hon. Dan van Holst Pellekaan, would have carriage of that bill, if he was the minister, and that there would be a consultation period: exactly what we've got. It was tabled before the winter break, and we have a consultation period, and we are still consulting at this current time.