Economic and Business Growth Fund

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:31): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment regarding the Economic and Business Growth Fund.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: During question time on Tuesday, the minister advised the council that the industry assistance grant to Mitsubishi was awarded under the Economic and Business Growth Fund. This grant represents 10 per cent of the allocated $20 million for this financial year for the fund, a grant that did not appear to undergo any due diligence process that the government set out for itself. My questions to the minister are:

1. When did Mitsubishi contact the government seeking industry assistance funding?

2. Why didn't the $2 million grant to Mitsubishi go through the governance group for this fund?

3. Did his departmental officials assess the application?

4. How many applications to the Economic and Business Growth Fund are currently under consideration?

The PRESIDENT: Minister.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (14:32): I am just making sure I don't miss any of the honourable member's questions, Mr President. I thank her again for her ongoing interest in this particular issue. In relation to the actual date that Mitsubishi contacted the government, I will have to take that exact date on notice. There had been some ongoing discussions for some considerable time, but I don't have the exact date in front of me.

As we explained on the day, this is a cabinet approved fund that has a governance group that has senior officials and Treasury officials and the like on it, and then of course it comes to cabinet. The Mitsubishi application did go through the process that I outlined before, and I think the Treasurer may have outlined, when we were examining the Auditor-General's Report on Tuesday as well. It did go through that process.

The Treasurer and I have often mentioned in this place together that our new approach will be to have a broader approach to industry assistance, more of a sectoral approach where a range of businesses can benefit, but cabinet and the government always reserve the right to make a decision on an individual company if we see that it is a sensible thing to do.

We have seen that Mitsubishi has a long-term commitment now. It has had since 1980; that is 38 years now. It was an opportunity to support Mitsubishi for a long-term investment, to make their national headquarters here in South Australia. We will pursue opportunities that are of the broadest possible nature, but we will always reserve the right, as a government and a cabinet, to make decisions on individual companies as we did with Mitsubishi. Regarding the departmental officials, I am sure there was some assessment done at a departmental level as the process, the application and the actual deal itself were assessed.

In relation to the number of applications, at the moment the way it is operating is we have a set of guidelines I think soon to come to cabinet, which cabinet will be reviewing, but at the moment I don't know the number. Certainly, we have the Department for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Department for Industry and Skills and the Department of Primary Industries—there will be three ministers that can bring matters to cabinet and through the process to that senior governance group from that particular fund. So I don't have the exact figures of any applications.

There are a number of groups, industry sectors, that are in constant contact with the government. There is a range of proposals that are live proposals at any one time. I will take that on notice and endeavour to bring back a reply for the member.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Scriven, a supplementary.