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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-07-26 Daily Xml
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BURNSIDE COUNCIL

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (15:44): My question is to the Premier. Is it an acceptable standard for a minister to not read a government document because he cannot trust himself not to reveal its content, as stated by the new Minister for State/Local Government Relations, and what process has been put in place regarding this minister's access to confidential cabinet submissions?

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) (15:45): I think I announced on Friday that it was my clear view, and that of the Attorney-General, that the Burnside documents, having been suppressed by the Supreme Court—which, by the way, is a higher court than the ones that you are involved in—

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Oh you did? Okay.

Mr Williams: So you can apologise now if you like.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: I apologise; it was uncalled for—that, in fact, the Burnside report should go to the police commissioner and should go to the Director of Public Prosecutions and go to the Anti-Corruption Branch.

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order, Madam Speaker—standing order 98: as informative as this may be, it has got nothing to do with the question. Despite the ludicrousness of this circumstance, it is a serious question. We have a minister of the Crown—

The SPEAKER: Thank you—

Mr WILLIAMS: —who is not game to read confidential information.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. I understand your question is serious; but I don't uphold your point of order because the Premier is answering it, and I think it is relevant—I see it as relevant.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: I am trying to put this into some intellectual framework for the Leader of the Opposition. Drawing upon 29 years of experience as a justice of the peace, it seems to me that it is very important for a minister to take legal advice. Of course, the Solicitor-General has given ministers and the minister's predecessor legal advice. The Supreme Court had suppressed the document so it is appropriate for the police commissioner—the Solicitor-General who, I understand, said that there was no likelihood of prosecutions—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Unley!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —but I am quite relaxed about the fact that the police commissioner, the Anti-Corruption Branch and the Director of Public Prosecutions are getting a copy. But I do think it is important for the minister to abide by Supreme Court decisions.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

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