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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-11-17 Daily Xml
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WATER RESTRICTIONS

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:47): My question is again to the Premier. Why was the senior adviser on water, Robyn McLeod, overseas in Israel when the Premier said he was seeking advice from the experts?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:47): We know you don't talk to each other, but you know what it was, and this made me laugh when I heard this story—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: I spoke to Robyn McLeod yesterday by using a telephone. It is an ancient device that goes back more than 100 years. I asked her advice and, as I revealed to people, she was comfortable with the flexibility but she would have preferred not to have the extra hours. Do you know something? The great thing about having independent and frank advice that gives you different opinions is that you then make a decision on the balance of the opinions that have been given to you. You listen to the experts, not like the opposition who came out a couple of weeks ago—the Liberals came out and said, 'Do not lift water restrictions.'

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order, Mr Speaker: the Premier is clearly debating now.

The SPEAKER: The Premier is debating. Does the Premier wish to conclude?

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Thank you, sir. So, we have a situation where the Liberals came out and said, 'Do not lift water restrictions' and then, when Karlene Maywald, minister Weatherill and I came out and said that we would look at lifting restrictions if it was the responsible thing to do, they reversed their position. Go and talk to Mr Whetstone. He is your lad in the Riverland, isn't he? So, here we have a situation where one side of the Liberal Party says, 'Don't lift restrictions' and the other says, 'Do it and don't listen to any experts.'

Mr GRIFFITHS: Point of order, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: The Premier will take his seat. The Premier is now debating. The member for Florey.

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