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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-09-15 Daily Xml
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OLYMPIC DAM

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (15:08): Never. They never do, Madam Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier guarantee that there will be no impact on the Olympic Dam expansion given the federal alliance between Labor and the Greens and the resulting pressure to ban uranium mining, which we know that the Premier once thought was a 'mirage in the desert', before he became such a strong advocate for it?

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) (15:09): I am very pleased to answer this one. Labor Party policy is set by the national conference of the Labor Party. It is a bit like the UN General Assembly. It is one where you hear great intellectual debates. My task, and I chose to accept it, was to go to, not the last but the previous conference and change the policy which had been binding on the Labor Party for more than a generation. As a result of those negotiations, difficult as they were, we saw an end to the no new mines policy, which has allowed new mines in this state and indeed in other states, including Western Australia to occur. Now, it is interesting that you ask questions about an alliance with the Independents, because—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: No, you asked about both.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mrs REDMOND: Madam Speaker, the Premier asserted that I asked about both the Independents and the Greens. I will restate the question. It was definitely: given the federal alliance between Labor and the Greens and the resulting pressure for a change of policy from the current uranium mining policy.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: There will be no change in policy.

The SPEAKER: The deputy leader.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Transport will be quiet. Deputy leader, get on with the question or sit down.

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