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

Mr PISONI (Unley) (14:59): My question is for the Premier. Who should South Australians believe: the Premier's office, who told media outlets yesterday that Cranfield University has had 89 students, or Cranfield University's UK office, who told the South Australian parliamentary library in writing this month, 'Cranfield haven't registered any students at Adelaide since we are not, as yet, offering any courses'?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

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) (15:00): They are going to name a hamburger after him in a shop in Unley Road, I am told; it is going to be half tongue and half chicken because he always makes these wild, wild statements.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Cranfield University—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —on 23 August 2010—

The SPEAKER: Order Premier! Will we please have less noise on this side of the house. Premier, finish your answer.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Cranfield University, on 23 August 2010, signed an MOU with the University of Adelaide to continue work for a joint degree—a joint degree—and/or joint executive education in electronic or information warfare. Cranfield has also commenced discussions with Flinders University in the fields of explosives ordnance and forensics. Cranfield is expected to formalise its relationship with Flinders University in explosives ordnance and forensics in 2011.

Cranfield is planning to commence its electronic delivery into Adelaide from its electronic classroom in March 2011 as part of its collaboration with university partners. For example, Professor Stephen Murray, head of the Department of Management and Security, has agreed to provide guest lectures to Flinders University honours students in March 2011 through electronic delivery.

Of course, Professor Ian Wallace, head of Cranfield Defence and Security, has agreed to continue work with the South Australian government following the expiry of the three-year business development agreement on 12 July 2010. Cranfield will continue to collaborate with partner universities in Adelaide. The model is to develop joint masters and/or joint executive education programs whereby the significant defence and security expertise of Cranfield will complement the expertise of local universities.

Cranfield's Professor of Resilience plans to develop their academic relationship with the Torrens Resilience Institute, which also has the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Flinders University as their founding partners. The Director of the Torrens Resilience Institute is actively working with the partners to secure further contracts to develop training modules and to undertake research projects. Also, Professor Ian Wallace is committed to an ongoing relationship with the SA government and collaboration with South Australian universities whereby Cranfield's specialist defence and security expertise is made available, particularly through electronic delivery.

I know you will be interested in this because you are absolutely serious about this: the establishment of the Torrens Resilience Institute. In November 2008 the University City Project began negotiations with Cranfield University for the establishment of the Torrens Resilience Institute in Adelaide, based on its existing UK Resilience Centre. Consultations regarding the feasibility of the Torrens Resilience Institute occurred with Cranfield University, the University of Adelaide, Flinders University and the University of South Australia. These four universities are the founding partners in the Torrens Resilience Institute.

Successful negotiations between the University City Project and Cranfield University secured the services of Mr Alastair McAslan to become the inaugural Director of the Torrens Resilience Institute in Adelaide. Mr McAslan was the former director of the—

The SPEAKER: Order! Point of order.

Mr WILLIAMS: The point of order is relevance. The question is about the discrepancy between—

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: Where is relevance in the standing orders?

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WILLIAMS: Standing order 98.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WILLIAMS: You got it horribly wrong yesterday, Patrick. You got it horribly wrong yesterday, my friend.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

Mr WILLIAMS: You got it horribly wrong.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Minister for Transport will be quiet. You have a point of order?

Mr WILLIAMS: My point of order, standing order 98, which states—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WILLIAMS: 'In answering such a question, a Minister or other Member replies to the substance of the question'—relevance; 'substance of the question'. The substance of the question asked was the discrepancy between—

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WILLIAMS: —what is coming out of Cranfield—

The SPEAKER: Order! Sit down! The deputy leader will sit down! Ninety-eight is about debating, not about relevance. However, Premier, would you like to finish your answer as soon as possible? We are nearly finished question time.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: I will finish off because I know that everybody wants to know what they have been doing. Successful negotiations between the University City Project and Cranfield University secured the services of Mr Alastair McAslan to become the inaugural Director of the Torrens Resilience Institute in Adelaide. He was the former director of the Humanitarian Resilience Centre at Cranfield University in the UK. He was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty the Queen in 2002 for his work in developing—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —international standards for humanitarian de-mining. In 2008, Cranfield University was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for higher education for this project in developing national capabilities in post-conflict countries.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: He commenced work as Director of the Torrens Resilience Institute in the latter half of 2009. I am very pleased to inform the house that the institute—this is the thing; you do not think anything is happening—was awarded a grant of $290,000 from the federal Attorney-General's Department on 2 July 2010 to evaluate the national Emergency Alert Program, which was introduced following the Victorian bushfires but, no doubt, you will criticise that as well.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

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