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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-02-19 Daily Xml
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ROYAL ADELAIDE HOSPITAL

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (14:51): Did the Treasurer, in 2007, approach a number of banks and potential consortia in South Australia and other states, seeking advice on how to tender the hospital project in a way that was off balance sheet?

The SPEAKER: I do not think that is a supplementary question but I call the Treasurer.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Federal/State Relations) (14:52): He is, again, making things up.

Mr Williams: Yes or no?

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for MacKillop!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I reckon if I said he is making things up that would be a no. That would be my assessment. What happens—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: The simple process, as with any of these—and I will walk the house through it and try to be as brief as I can—is that before a proposal goes to cabinet a number of options are considered. You are laughing at what?

An honourable member: You.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Are you? How is it going up there on the back bench?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson: You look good in that website of yours.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Attorney will come to order!

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: If I was sitting way back there I wouldn't be laughing at anyone.

The SPEAKER: And the Minister for Transport will come to order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: As we have said consistently, we consider a number of delivery modes. In this case we brought in a firm (I think it was KPMG, from memory) to do an analysis as to what would be the preferential delivery mode. It may not have been KPMG; I cannot recall now. We consider what is the best option and a PPP came up as the best option. It may not be the best option with the current economic downturn. It may well be that we do a direct build. We have not reached the point of making that decision. However, if the suggestion is that I somehow hop on a plane and fly around and—what was the question?

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: How do I get this off balance sheet?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Get real! I do not know how you operated in government but I am not the type of minister who gets involved in handing out tenders to companies or getting advice from companies directly on specific projects. We have a proper probity process for all of that. I do not actually understand the question, to be perfectly frank. I speak to people—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I speak to firms quite regularly about a lot of projects. I may well have spoken to firms at that time about the hospital. There was a lot of interest when we announced the hospital and we spoke to a lot of companies. No doubt I spoke to many companies and would have, at every opportunity, encouraged investment houses and construction firms around the nation and, indeed, probably globally to get on board, get involved and get a consortia together and bid. Of that, I am guilty but, if you are somehow suggesting that I was trying to connive with a private-sector firm to give me somehow a model that would get it off balance sheet, that is plain wrong. If I wanted to get it off balance sheet and I wanted someone to give me the advice, I would not go to a builder, I would go to Treasury and say, 'Guys, how do we get it off balance sheet?'

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: You'd probably want to talk to the Auditor-General.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Or the Auditor-General. But that is the whole point: the Auditor-General in recent years has tightened up and made it clear to government that we cannot treat these projects as off balance sheet because there is not sufficient risk transfer. Whatever the situation was in 2007 was then; what I am talking about is that, once we have now made these decisions to go forward, it is quite obvious that they are on balance sheet.

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