SA Water

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:30): My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer update the house on proposals by the former Labor government to privatise SA Water?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:31): Very good question, and I thank the Hon. Mr Stephens for it. The issue was raised yesterday, and I had the ability to canvass various pieces of information in the subsequent 24-hour period. The period to which I want to refer is the period from 2012 through to the period 2018, and the key players during that period where the former Treasurer, Jack Snelling, the former Treasurer and now member for West Torrens, Mr Koutsantonis (a former minister), the Hon. Ian Hunter, as the minister for water, and the former premier, Jay Weatherill.

In 2012, the former Labor cabinet commissioned a secret report from KPMG for which they paid $110,000, which looked at options for the sale of parts of the assets of SA Water. There were various options canvassed in relation to which particular elements would be sold off, and in particular they considered the option of selling off the wastewater plant provisions and associated pipe infrastructure in relation to it. They decided to leave for a later date consideration of the sale of the desalination plant.

The rough order of magnitude of the estimated value of proceeds was $3 billion to $4 billion that they were looking at in that period. That was 2012-13. Interestingly, during that particular period the Hon. Tung Ngo was a senior adviser to Jack Snelling. He was subsequently followed by the Hon. Clare Scriven a couple of years later during that particular period, and towards the end of that period, in 2017-18, the Hon. Emily Bourke was a senior adviser to the premier.

Soon after the appointment to the water portfolio of the Hon. Ian Hunter, whilst he was there a decision was taken by the former government to, in essence, prevent the disclosure—under the contracts and disclosures provisions the government was required to release the details of the KPMG expenditure. Whilst the former minister Hunter (the Hon. Mr Hunter now) was the water minister, his government took the decision to prevent the disclosure of the KPMG scoping study report by a provision of advisory services by approving an exemption from PCO27, the disclosure of government contracts and tenders on that website. That decision was taken whilst the Hon. Mr Hunter was the minister for water.

Whilst the Hon. Mr Hunter was the minister for water, subsequently in 2014-15 the government then secretly commissioned further work through SA Water in relation to further privatisation options of SA Water.

So whilst the Hon. Mr Hunter was the minister for water, the SA Water board was doing secret work on the sale and divestment options of SA Water, under the former government. All during that period, the Hon. Mr Hunter enjoyed the very strong support of the former premier, the Hon. Jay Weatherill. The only reason the Hon. Mr Hunter became a minister was through his friendship and support of the Hon. Mr Weatherill. There was a very close link between the Hon. Mr Weatherill and the Hon. Mr Hunter and, as I said, he was appointed to the water portfolio. Whilst he was actually the minister, he was responsible for an agency that was secretly looking at the privatisation of SA Water.

If I can conclude, because I have a lot more information that I will put on the public record at a later stage, the sticky fingers of the Hon. Mr Hunter, the Hon. Tung Ngo, a senior adviser to the Treasurer, the Hon. Clare Scriven, the Hon. Emily Bourke—the whole lot of them were caught out, secretly trying to privatise SA Water.