Legislative Council Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time Nyrstar Nyrstar The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS Legislative Council Nyrstar The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:12): Supplementary question: given what you have just explained to us, Treasurer, how do you reconcile the member for West Torrens' public statements today, where he says, 'It seems to me that the hands are off the wheel here and the government is really letting market forces dictate what occurs to South Australian employees, even if these companies have received massive subsidies from the South Australian taxpayer.'? The Hon. R.I. LUCAS Legislative Council Nyrstar The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:12): I thank the honourable member for that supplementary because it is for that reason, when I saw that particular statement from the former treasurer, that prompted me to put on the public record some of the detail that I have not put on the public record before. I was stunned when I saw the bald-faced effrontery of the former treasurer to make a statement like that in seeking to blame the incoming Marshall Liberal government for the financial incompetence, bordering on negligence, of a deal that he personally negotiated on behalf of the taxpayers of South Australia. As I said, how he had the effrontery to stand up in front of the media and make those sorts of claims was extraordinary, it was stunning, and that's why I think he should be held to account not only by the media here in South Australia—there should be a demand from the media on behalf of the taxpayers and the families—for the former treasurer to front up and answer the question: why did he negotiate a deal with $291.25 million of taxpayers' money swinging in the breeze, yet insist on no protections for jobs of Nyrstar workers and their families?