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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-05-26 Daily Xml
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ADELAIDE OVAL

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (14:27): My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer confirm that he had a briefing with Leigh Whicker and his team in the week prior to 9 March 2010?

Prior to the election on 9 March this year, on radio the Treasurer said, 'I had a briefing during the week with Leigh Whicker and his team.' In the same radio interview, the Treasurer said, 'I know what things cost.' The interview continued, and he said, 'What we are comparing is a new stadium versus the upgrade of Adelaide Oval for $500 million.' Does the Treasurer now concede that he knew the cost blowout before the election?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Federal/State Relations, Minister for Defence Industries) (14:27): That is a rehash of a story that occurred during the election campaign.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Yes, and I got bollocked from a number of sources. It was a Saturday morning interview, from memory, on the sports program and I used the figure '500' incorrectly. I do recall meeting—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I beg your pardon?

An honourable member: He said you look like a wedding singer with that suit on.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: That's not what he said the first time. He hasn't got the courage to say it a second time.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I look like a wedding singer in this suit?

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: That's not what he said the first time.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Were you having a crack at me about fashion sense?

Mr PENGILLY: Point of order: I refer to standing order 141.

The SPEAKER: Please ignore the comments from members on my left, Treasurer.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I think he said something else. I think he asked whether I was sober on the Saturday morning. I think that is what he said.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I think he did.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Or did I have a hangover?

The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Premier will answer the question. Members on my left will be quiet.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: You are a nasty piece of work. We saw what you did to defeat the former member for Unley to get that seat.

Mr PENGILLY: Point of order, Madam Speaker. I again refer to standing order 141.

The SPEAKER: We will get back to the question. I will uphold that point of order.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: He wants to have a crack at me about my suit selection. Have a look at it. God! I accept that I had a meeting with the SMA. I never denied that I did. If it was 9 March, according to the deputy leader, it was 9 March. We did not have a discussion about the costs.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: We didn't!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: We didn't. Work had only—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Treasurer is answering the question.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: That was the beginning of the process. But, I will just tell you this: I got into trouble because I rounded off a figure—I said 500. I got a little bit of trouble from my own side, too, just quietly. It is the sort of thing you do not like to do in the middle of an election campaign.

The Hon. J.D. Hill interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Pardon?

The Hon. J.D. Hill: Yours wasn't the only mistake in the election campaign.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: It wasn't the only mistake. It was not like in the last week when the member for Bragg, in her great press conference—and I did thank you on the night—at that Tuesday night press conference (and I don't think that was a mistake; I think it was totally designed) ensured that we on this side—

Mr PENGILLY: Point of order: relevance to the question.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Then again, there was the—

Mr Griffiths: It's all spin.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: 'It's all spin', from the former shadow treasurer.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: They costed the expressway from a Messenger article.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: That's it; they copied it from a Messenger article, and we never heard anything more about the Southern Expressway. They never even—

Mr PENGILLY: Point of order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Finniss.

Mr PENGILLY: Relevance to the question, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Yes, I think it's time now that the Deputy Premier got back to the question. I think he is explaining himself, but he seems to be getting sidetracked somewhat—

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I apologise, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER: —and that is before the interjections.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I apologise but, Madam Speaker, I am—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I am a decent person with a heart, and I do feel for the member for Davenport that he is not on this side of the bench because of the sabotage of the member for Bragg and the former deputy leader in the dying days of the campaign. I have some compassion for you.

The SPEAKER: Treasurer!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: And, the member for Bragg: the gift that keeps on giving. I think the former attorney coined that phrase.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: It was the minister for corrections. The gift that keeps on giving. Long may the member for Bragg remain in this parliament, because the longer we may remain on this side. Had it been—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Well, just remember when it happened. It was a 24-hour story. I copped a bit of flak on the day, but the opposition—

Mr MARSHALL: Point of order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my right!

Mr MARSHALL: It is a very clear question, and the Treasurer refuses to answer it.

The SPEAKER: I am not sure if that is a point of order but, Treasurer, could you please conclude your answer? You were doing quite well till the last minute and a half.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I will conclude by making this point, Madam Speaker: had that been a moment of high drama in the campaign, where I had been briefed on a higher cost and I had gone out there, that issue would have run for a week. It would have been a central attack line from members opposite. Not even members opposite thought that at the time, because it simply was not true.

The SPEAKER: The member for—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! This is getting very unruly here. The member for Ashford.

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