Legislative Council Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time Whyalla Steelworks Whyalla Steelworks The Hon. B.R. HOOD Legislative Council Whyalla Steelworks The Hon. B.R. HOOD (15:04): I seek leave to provide a brief explanation before asking a question of the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council on the Whyalla Steelworks. Leave granted. The Hon. B.R. HOOD Legislative Council The Hon. B.R. HOOD: During this morning's press conference with the Primer Minister in Whyalla, the Premier stated that he had spoken to the Prime Minister last year regarding the issue in Whyalla, with the PM responding and, in the words of the Premier, I quote, 'I'm going to make this work.' On FIVEaa today when asked a question by Graeme Goodings as to why this has taken so long, federal minister Ed Husic said there was hope that the former owners would actually pay their bills and invest in what they said they would. Given those comments, my question to the Leader of the Government is: when exactly did the government form a view that GFG could not pay its debts, and when did the government decide to pursue the action that it has now taken? The Hon. K.J. MAHER Legislative Council Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Attorney-General Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector Special Minister of State The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (15:05): I will refer back to the ministerial statement that I read out that was made by the Premier yesterday in parliament. Again, going into the ins and outs of what cabinet discussions or deliberations occur is not something that I will do and it is not something that any minister has done in this chamber in the past. From the public statements that have been made, from the actions that we saw yesterday, I think we are all well aware that this took a great deal of planning. The preciseness of the actions that were needed to give the events that occurred yesterday the best possible chance of playing out, and to give the Whyalla Steelworks the best possible chance of being the success it can be into the future, have necessitated a lot of work and forethought.