House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-11-24 Daily Xml

Contents

FORESTRYSA

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:52): My question is again to the Minister for Forests. Does the minister agree with the Treasurer’s comment today that what the minister said at the South-East forum should not have been made public, and who should the public of South Australia believe: the minister or the Treasurer?

The SPEAKER: Order! Before the Treasurer stands—you can choose to answer that question if you wish, minister.

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN (Napier—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Northern Suburbs) (14:52): It was a closed meeting. An invitation was issued to the Treasurer and myself to address a public meeting. I said I would attend; I think the Treasurer was busy. It was then decided by the organisers in the South-East that they would make it a private meeting, and on the basis of it being a private meeting—

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN: The fact of the matter is that, if I had known that it was going to be a public meeting, the rules may have been a little different, but the information that I made available that evening was to a private meeting of concerned South-East business and community leaders, and I did the right thing by them.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!