Land Tax

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:58): A supplementary—

The PRESIDENT: I think one more supplementary. The Hon. Mr Wortley was keen to ask a supplementary.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: —arising from the original answer: can the Treasurer assure the chamber that no taxpayers' money—that is, staff time—was spent trawling through social media to find things that could be part of that inevitable chatter and gossip that MPs and staffers have with journalists?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:59): Really? Do tell, the Hon. Ms Bourke. I am not going to be drawn improperly into that particular whim; I will not be diverted. Social media is publicly available. Social media is an inevitable part of the daily 24-hour cycle of politics and anyone who is associated with politics. The notion that the business of politics doesn't involve looking at what is being said in relation to social media or what is being said in relation to the electronic media generally is fanciful, is nonsense and would only be able to find any sort of substance in the fallow grounds of the Leader of the Opposition's imagination.

The PRESIDENT: I am allowing Labor one more supplementary on this and then we are moving on. The Hon. Ms Bourke.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: I don't know anything about you at all, the Hon. Ms Bourke.