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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-05-01 Daily Xml
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MARJORIE JACKSON-NELSON HOSPITAL

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (15:06): My question is to the Treasurer. Has the Treasurer reconsidered the financial model for the funding of his privatisation of the proposed new hospital at City West? The Treasurer has told taxpayers he will fund the hospital with a 30-year private leasing and management deal whereby the consortium that builds the hospital will receive lease payments for 30 years, along with management and maintenance fees. The costs of those types of private-public partnerships have risen in the time since the Treasurer's announcement, and I refer him to the 13 February front page of his favourite newspaper, the Financial Review, which states:

The credit crunch induced crisis among specialist bond insurers could substantially raise costs for public-private partnership consortiums just as Australian governments are looking to embark on a massive infrastructure building program.

This article goes on to explain how the collapse of the monoline insurance market will add to the costs of PPPs.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Federal/State Relations) (15:08): That is a very good question. Did the member put that to Treasury when he was briefed on this hospital last week? Did he ask that question?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: That is a no.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Slam dunk! I would have thought if you were getting a briefing from a high-level Treasury official—I guess the Under Treasurer was there—and you were asking a whole series of questions, you would ask him that. I am happy to answer it.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Sorry?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: You are still thinking about it?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Don't abuse me.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Treasurer has the floor.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: If I get abused by the member for MacKillop I will sit down.

The SPEAKER: Be quiet, member for MacKillop. Can we just get on with it, please? The Treasurer.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: There is no question that the tightening in world credit markets has put another dimension into the issue of PPPs. I asked that very question back in February, actually; I did not wait until 1 May to be raising that concern with my Treasury officers, and the advice with which I have been provided is that it is not expected to have a material impact on the PPPs. We will not know for certain, of course, until we go through expressions of interest and the tendering process.

As the member would be aware, the tendering process will occur some way down the track yet, and one would hope that credit markets have stabilised sufficiently at that point. I say this. First, this issue of privatisation is nonsense, and we know that to be the case, but the opposition—

Mr Hamilton-Smith: Who will own it?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Sorry?

Mr Hamilton-Smith: Who will own the building?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: The private operators will own the infrastructure—

Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Yes, the building.

Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: No, we can extend.

Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: The building. Unlike Modbury, we own the building, but the private sector owned the doctors, nurses and everything else that went on in the hospital—that is privatisation. We do not own most of the offices that public servants live in. Does that mean they are privatised? Is the Attorney-General's Department privatised? No, but we do not own the building, I guess. We do not own a lot of buildings, but we lease them.

I would have hoped for a better understanding of the financing of infrastructure from the member for Goyder as he has had a job as a senior officer managing a small but not insignificant council.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: That's not patronising him; that's actually praising him.

Ms Chapman: That is rude.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Rude? I said that he managed a small but not insignificant council. Did the member for Goyder find that rude when I said that he managed a small but not insignificant council?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: That's the truth.

Mr Griffiths: I don't like the word 'small'.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: All right—a not insignificant council. Public-private partnership for the delivery of social infrastructure is a method of project delivery supported actively by every government in Australia and nationally and, to my knowledge, it is supported by all conservative governments except the Leader of the Opposition. And why? Because he opposes everything. Nick Greiner supports it; he thinks it is a good idea. Jeff Kennett thought it was a good idea.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: No, he didn't. That's not true. He thought they were a very good idea. What would you know? The former premier of Victoria was a big supporter of PPPs. Do you know what the Leader of the Opposition said yesterday? He only supports PPPs—he said it across the chamber—when they involve an income stream.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Was it now? What else has an income stream? Toll roads. So let us put it on the agenda now that the Leader of the Opposition actively supports and promotes toll roads in South Australia as a PPP with—

Mr Hamilton-Smith: That's a lie and you know it.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Mr Speaker, I am appalled. The Leader of the Opposition has just said that I uttered a lie. I would not even know how to do that. I am offended, and I would like the leader to withdraw that remark.

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition must withdraw that remark.

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: The Treasurer's remarks are untrue, sir, completely and totally untrue.

The SPEAKER: Are you withdrawing—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: I withdraw the word 'lie'.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: So, sir, I wasn't lying; the Leader of the Opposition does support toll roads.

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: I rise on a point of order, Mr Speaker.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: You can't get away from that.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: Mr Speaker, if you are going to require things of the opposition, I think it is inappropriate to allow the minister to twist the truth as he just did for political point-scoring, and I ask you to call him to order.

The SPEAKER: Order! I do not know what I can do to make the Deputy Premier change his remarks. The Leader of the Opposition can make a personal explanation.

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