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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-11-19 Daily Xml
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LOOSELY, MR S.

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (15:11): Thank you, sir.

An honourable member interjecting:

Mrs REDMOND: I'll let him do it, sir.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:12): My question is again to the Treasurer. Did former Labor senator, Stephen Loosely, who now works as a lobbyist, contact the Treasurer's office during the Rann government's consideration of the super schools public-private partnership seeking information from the Treasurer's office? If yes, what action did the Treasurer's office take in relation to the request and what information was conveyed to Mr Loosely?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Federal/State Relations) (15:12): It is good to see the big sister help out her little brother there, who was in need of a question. Clearly, my barbs about him being scared of me were such that he had to ask the leader for the question.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I assume, Mr Speaker—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I assume, Mr Speaker, that this is the Stephen Loosely who now works with Peter Costello in the new consultancy. Peter Costello is the new managing director of a consultancy firm or an investment bank, a corporate advisory firm, and Stephen Loosely is one of the associates, from what I have read.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Yes, I guess so, and Peter Costello will probably be there too.

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Well, can I answer the question or do you want to interject?

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The minister for corrections!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I will seek advice. I have no recollection of having a conversation—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for MacKillop!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I have no recollection myself of speaking to Mr Loosely about that particular project. I may have, but I have no recollection, so I will check my files. What I do know—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: What I do know is that, as in all of these projects, we have a very strict protocol for probity, and there are very strict guidelines on who can talk to who and how such meetings and conversations can occur. I do recall Mr Loosely representing a number of firms when he has contacted my office and at times spoken to me.

I can also reveal to the house that I have spoken a number of times about projects, including PPPs. One conversation that I can recall is one that I had with one of the PPP companies, with the Hon. Nick Greiner, former Liberal premier of New South Wales, who rang me directly about matters relating to PPP projects in general. I remember that conversation with Nick Greiner, who is the chairman of some companies—

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition.

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: No, I do not. What I have said is that I may well have had a discussion with Mr Loosely. Had I had a discussion it would have been in the strictest of protocols relating to PPPs, just as it would have been had I discussed matters with Mr Greiner. I do not recall a specific conversation with Mr Loosely on this matter, but I will endeavour to find out whether or not my office has, or indeed whether there is any recollection of a specific conversation that I have had.

However, as I said there are politicians on both sides of politics who represent major corporations that deal with this government. Alexander Downer would be one; Ian Smith would be another; Wayne Matthew has contacted me on a number of occasions about specific matters; Graham Ingerson has my personal telephone number and has contacted me on a number of matters; Nick Bolkus. There are others on either side of politics. However, as the Premier has said, there will be a registry of lobbyists by which you will know everyone who is registered.

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