SkyCity Adelaide

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (14:33): I thank you for the flippant response. Are you confident or can you perhaps come back to the chamber, through the Attorney-General, to at least tell the chamber whether or not the politically exposed persons are government ministers or public sector employees in South Australia?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:33): I can indicate that I haven't been money laundering through the Casino. I don't have sufficient money, I suspect, to be money laundering. I can't add anything further to the comprehensive response I have given to the further question, and that is, as I said, I suspect the answer from AUSTRAC and from the Attorney-General will be that they are not in a position to indicate at this stage, whilst they are still conducting investigations, that we are looking at Mr X or Ms X, or whatever it might happen to be, and to publicly identify them at this particular stage, and that AUSTRAC is happy to share that information with the Hon. Mr Pangallo, as interested as he might be in their identity.

Indeed, all of us would be interested to know the identity of people who might ultimately be charged with offences, and one would imagine that will become part of the public record. But in terms of any investigation, there will be an investigation of people who might ultimately be charged with offences and it is then up to them to prove their innocence or have their guilt proven, or there may well be people investigated who are completely innocent and there should be no requirement, in that case, to have their particular details publicly exposed by AUSTRAC, unless for whatever reason AUSTRAC decide they want to go down that path.

We have no control over AUSTRAC. It is ultimately a decision for them, as an independent, national regulatory authority with the power to do what they are required to do. We are quite happy to wait for them to conclude their investigations and, if there are people to be charged, to charge those people at the appropriate time.