House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-23 Daily Xml

Contents

ROYAL ADELAIDE HOSPITAL

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): Again, my question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer explain to the house in what way the new Royal Adelaide Hospital will not—and again I quote from section 3 of the Parliamentary Committees Act—'be constructed on land of the Crown or a State instrumentality'?

An honourable member: Same question.

Mrs REDMOND: No, it's not.

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Treasurer, Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education) (14:22): If that is not exactly the same as the first question the Leader of the Opposition asked me, I will be pretty surprised.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: It sounded pretty similar to me, but there may have been a change in syntax, perhaps. If there was, I will take the Leader of the Opposition on her word. I am not going to rise in this place and argue with the Leader of the Opposition the merits or otherwise of the advice that has been given to the government by Crown; that advice is clear. That advice is quite clear.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: For the purposes of the committees act, the new Royal Adelaide Hospital project does not come under the ambit of what would be referred to the Public Works Committee. Our legal advice from Crown is quite clear on that point. I have come to the opposition and put to them a proposal where we do not have to worry about this; we can come to an accommodation. I cannot understand exactly why the opposition want to rake over what the legal advice is when I have put to them a proposal, and I am looking forward to them getting back to me.