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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-03-27 Daily Xml
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GM HOLDEN

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:30): My question is again to the Premier. Will the Premier tell the house how many jobs have to be lost at Holden before triggering an obligation to commence repayment of funds back to government? At a briefing last night, Holden would not tell the opposition about the clawback provisions in this funding arrangement but stated that they have told the Premier about these provisions.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:30): The clawback provisions relate to the agreements that we have secured and I mentioned those earlier.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Avoiding the closure of Holden's, the investment of $1 billion. This is, remember here, $50 million of South Australia's investment—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —$1 billion of Holden's investment here in South Australia, in relation to two new generation vehicles. Now, absent that, we wouldn't have the commitment to maintaining operations to 2022 at Elizabeth here in South Australia and, fourthly, participate in the working party with South Australian government representatives to do two very important things.

This commitment is at the heart of our agreement to this proposal. We are assisted in this regard by Göran Roos, who designed a number of the asks that we had from General Motors which were the subject of intensive negotiations, and that is the first, to integrate our Holden's automotive manufacturing operations into GM's global supply. This is absolutely crucial. We can't have a unique industry here in Australia and somehow expect to withstand the pressures, especially in the context of a high Australian dollar. The second element of that—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The second element of that is working on that same working party to ensure that our component suppliers are part of the global supply chain. This is an even bigger—

The SPEAKER: Order! Point of order.

Mrs REDMOND: The relevance of the answer. The question was about the point at which—

The SPEAKER: Order! Thank you.

Mrs REDMOND: —the government has the expectation to get any money back.

The SPEAKER: We know what your question was, thank you, Leader of the Opposition. Premier, continue your answer to the question.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I have to outline the essential conditions of the agreement because it goes to the question of failure, in relation to those matters, that drives the clawback provisions. So, I will continue the answer because it is absolutely germane to the question.

The second element of the working party which was absolutely crucial is the importance of ensuring that the existing component suppliers in South Australia are insinuated into Holden's or General Motors' global supply chain. Now, this is absolutely crucial. This work means that those component manufacturers will have the capacity to actually reach a far greater audience in relation to their manufactured products and, importantly, they will work with those component suppliers to broaden their manufacturing supply base to ensure that they are not reliant solely on Holden's. This is a crucial part of the work that needed to occur after—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I was born here. It's Holden's if you were born here.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It's just the way we pronounce it in this state. It's Holden's.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It was always Holden's to me, the way I was brought up. Can I say that this second element, insinuating the component suppliers into our global supply chain, is absolutely crucial. It is linked crucially to the $35 million fund that has been established by the commonwealth in relation to which South Australia will co-administer. So, we have a $35 million fund, which is about—

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —well, you will find out if you allow me to complete my answer—all of those matters, the failure of which will trigger our capacity to either not pay the money, remembering that our contribution doesn't commence until 2016-17, or claw it back if there is a failure in those substantial matters.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Mitchell.

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacKillop will leave the chamber for the rest of question time.

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacKillop will leave the chamber.

Mr WILLIAMS: On what authority, Madam Speaker?

The SPEAKER: Standing orders. You have not been named; you have been asked to leave until the end of question time.

Mr WILLIAMS: Madam Speaker, can I draw your attention to section 55 of the Constitution Act?

The SPEAKER: I am sure you know that off by heart.

Mr WILLIAMS: I do, Madam Speaker. Section 55 of the Constitution Act says that for either of the houses to change a standing order, they have a vote and then they lay it before the Governor and for the standing order to become enforceable—

The Hon. J.M. Rankine: It's a sessional order.

Mr WILLIAMS: Or a sessional order.

The SPEAKER: This is a sessional order.

Mr WILLIAMS: Or a sessional order. For it to become enforceable, it needs to be approved by the Governor. Madam Speaker, I have done a search of the minutes of the house and I have been unable to find any message from the Governor to say that the Governor has signed off on the motion that was moved by this house some weeks ago.

The SPEAKER: Thank you, member for MacKillop. I will consult with the clerks after but in the meantime you will leave the chamber until the end of question time.

Mr WILLIAMS: Madam Speaker, again, I ask on what authority you are asking me to leave the chamber.

The SPEAKER: On sessional orders that were adopted two to three weeks ago.

Mr WILLIAMS: Madam Speaker, again, I call your attention to section 55 of the Constitution Act. I do not believe the sessional orders have been lawfully adopted.

The SPEAKER: That is your opinion. I will consult with the clerks after, but in the meantime you will leave the chamber until the end of question time.

Mr WILLIAMS: Madam Speaker—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WILLIAMS: —I do not mind obeying the rules as adopted by this house. I do not believe that this has been lawfully adopted by the house. It is not my fault that the government doesn't know what it is doing. I am lawfully here to represent the people of MacKillop and—

The SPEAKER: Member for MacKillop—

Mr WILLIAMS: —I think the people of MacKillop expect me to be here when I am lawfully entitled to be.

The SPEAKER: Member for MacKillop, they would also expect you to behave when you are here. I have asked you to leave the chamber. If you refuse to leave the chamber, I will have to name you.

Mr WILLIAMS: So be it, Madam Speaker.

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