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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-11-09 Daily Xml
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TRADE PROMOTION, PUGLIA REGION

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:38): My question is again to the Premier. Why did the Premier indicate that he wanted spending in relation to any Puglia-linked program spared in the 2010 budget cuts, and to whom did he indicate this? The leaked Sustainable Budget Commission report recommended that the Fiera del Levante funding be scrapped. However, as revealed in the media, 'senior Labor sources said the Premier had made it clear to the budget committee that the programs were to be spared'.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. Rann: He's the one.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Federal/State Relations, Minister for Defence Industries) (14:39): I have been to Italy, to Puglia, to this thing. Funny it could be raised—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: —because as a former adviser to an industry minister, as a former industry minister, I have had a lot of experience in state government policy as it relates to trade. When I attended the fair in Italy, I accompanied the then ambassador to Italy, Amanda Vanstone, who I understand on at least two occasions has attended that fair. I recall when Amanda Vanstone gave an outstanding speech—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Bragg, I warn you for the second time!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: How I knew it was a fantastic speech, given it was in Italian, was that everyone applauded it, and they were Italian. They were incredibly impressed at the Australian ambassador to Italy—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Well, I don't care. You should hear what people say about you, Vickie—they are very rarely complimentary. But, trust me, I defend you.

The SPEAKER: Order! There is a point of order.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: And, the ambassador—

The SPEAKER: Treasurer, sit down. The leader.

Mrs REDMOND: Again, Madam Speaker, relevance. The question was about why this program was spared in the budget cuts and who the Premier asked to have it spared.

The SPEAKER: I think the Treasurer might be getting to the point of his question or he will sit down.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I am getting to the point. Amanda Vanstone thought it was a very appropriate investment by our state; she thought it was a good initiative by our state.

Ms Chapman: Did she ask you?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Yes.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Madam Speaker, the Australian ambassador to Italy, at that time, in conversation with me, was very proud and, indeed, pleased that our government had taken this initiative. She hosted a dinner for leading Italian business leaders in a hotel in Puglia and was incredibly positive about our contribution.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Have a look at it, will you?

The SPEAKER: Order! Treasurer, return to the answer.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: You are a weird unit.

The SPEAKER: Order! Treasurer, behave yourself!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Well, it is true. She is a weird unit.

The Hon. M.D. Rann interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Truth has nothing to do with it, Premier. Get back to the question.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Between her and that—

Mr PENGILLY: I have a point of order, Madam Speaker, under standing order 128, relevance.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I can say that throughout the budget committee deliberations the Premier never once spoke to me about this particular fair or our investment.

Mr Gardner interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Sorry, what was that?

The SPEAKER: Order! The Treasurer will not respond to interjections but get on with the answer to the question.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Are you being served, sir?

The SPEAKER: Treasurer!

Mr Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Morialta!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: You just have a funny voice. Madam Speaker, the Premier never spoke to me about that particular issue at all.

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: What?

Mrs Redmond: The question was: who did the Premier speak to?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I was the one who ruled it out. The Minister for Education—

Mrs Redmond: 'Senior government sources said the Premier…'—

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I do not know what senior sources, but I can tell you that, as the chair—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Norwood, you are warned for the second time, and you will not get another warning: you will be out next time. Treasurer, can you get to the answer to the question? You are there, but finish it.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Well, I am answering it now, Madam Speaker. The Minister for Education, I am sure, as well as the Minister for Infrastructure and the Hon. Paul Holloway in another place, and certainly I, as chair, received no request, instruction, suggestion or comment. I did not even give it a thought. When you are dealing with a budget involving the magnitude of savings that we needed to make, I have to tell members that this particular program was not high on our agenda. It was not something that was asked by the Premier of me.

Mrs Redmond: CITCSA got scrapped.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: 'CITCSA got scrapped.' Madam Speaker, it is probably worthwhile, at this point, to also update the house with respect to budget cuts. The federal government's midyear economic review was released today and I can report to the house that we have, yet again, taken a significant hit on expected GST moneys to South Australia.

Mr WILLIAMS: I have a point of order under standing order 98. This has no relevance whatsoever to the question that was asked.

The SPEAKER: I uphold that point of order. Has the Treasurer finished his answer? The member for Light.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! There is a corridor outside where you can have these conversations. The member for Light.

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