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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
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GM HOLDEN

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite) (15:06): My question is for the Premier. What has his Labor government actually secured, if anything, for Holden workers and this state since he announced the $275 million federal-state co-investment package, given yesterday's announcements by Holden?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (15:07): It must be disappointing for the member for Waite to be put into the second half of the—I mean, he does it so much better, doesn't he?

Mr GARDNER: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: A point of order, Premier. Be seated. The member for Morialta, who by the way has been interjecting under the radar all through question time. I congratulate him on his volume setting. The point of order?

Mr GARDNER: The point of order is number 98, sir. The Premier is clearly debating and not even attempting to get to the substance of the question.

The SPEAKER: The Premier will come to the substance of the question.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: They were just preparatory remarks. I was just commenting on the fact that the member for Waite seemed to present with so much more gravitas.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: You just can't say something nice about someone, can you?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Exactly; some people just won't be prepared to accept a compliment. Look, it is all set out. The nature of the co-investment package is all set out in the document we put before the South Australian Parliament on 28 March 2012. I did at some length deal with some of these matters in the course of the contribution I made, but I would have thought that the existence or otherwise of Holden's is rather a rich fact that would have been obvious to somebody in the northern suburbs as they drive along the road. The absence of Holden's would have been noticed, I think. In fact, it is suggested that 16,000 other people would have noticed the fact that—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Well, the truth of the matter is this: but for this—

Mr Marshall: I drove past the airport the other day. Thank goodness you were here, otherwise that would have been gone. Sorry, sir, but that was the worst argument I've ever heard in this place. It was hopeless.

The SPEAKER: I warn the leader for the first and second time. Just in case the member for Davenport was wondering, while I was formulating the first warning, the leader continued to interject, hence he got the second warning. The same applied to the member for Unley.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Well, now you've raised it, Mr Speaker, I will take that point of order, because how does the member know that he has infringed enough to get a first warning if he doesn't get his first warning until you give him his second warning? As a practice, as a matter of natural justice, the person should be warned first so they have the opportunity to correct their behaviour, Mr Speaker. It is an unfair practice and I ask you to reflect on the matter.

The SPEAKER: Yes, thank you. I dispense summary justice. Now, where were we? The Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I was being asked what had been secured by the Premier. It was a commitment by Holden's to actually spend a billion dollars. In some people's language that would be regarded as material. I know those opposite live in a slightly parallel universe, but a billion dollars of investment in South Australia—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: Private investment.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —private investment—leveraged by $50 million of the South Australian government, most people would regard as a pretty significant arrangement. All we are insisting on is that the agreement that we negotiated is actually faithfully implemented, and that is the nature of the discussions we are now going to have to have with General Motors.

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