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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-09-14 Daily Xml
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BURNSIDE COUNCIL

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (14:45): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for State/Local Government Relations questions regarding the investigation into the former Burnside council, which I refer to as the Burnsidegate affair.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY: On 6 July, in response to questions concerning the draft MacPherson report, the minister stated:

I have not read the report. I did not need to read the report for me to make my decision, as simple as that.

In response to a question from the Hon. Ann Bressington on 26 July, the minister said:

The commissioner has sent me an invitation inviting me to forward a copy of the draft report, which I have done.

In response to questions the following day, the minister further indicated that a copy of the draft report had been prepared for the Commissioner of Police on Friday 22 July and forwarded to the commissioner on Monday 25 July. My questions are:

1. The minister has stated on a number of occasions that he has not read the report. Does this mean that the minister does not possess a copy of the draft report?

2. Could the minister advise whether any of his staff possess a copy of the draft report, regardless of whether or not they have read it?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:47): I thank you for your question. In relation to that component, no, none of my staff have a copy of the report. Why have I not read the report? In hindsight, I can see that some of the comments I made in reference to the suppression order were maybe not as clear as I would have liked them to be, and I thank you for the opportunity to provide some further clarity on this issue.

I don't think it would be prudent of me to read the report, not only because there is a suppression order that remains in force but also because the court's judgement rendered some of the terms invalid. It would be like reading a half-finished novel with some of the chapters removed. In the light of these circumstances, it would be difficult to remain objective, given the incomplete nature of the report. It is also worth remembering that the draft report was never destined for the minister's desk. While on my feet, there seems to be a great desire to carry on with the Burnside issue. I have terminated it, and that is the end of it as far as I am concerned. Where you want to—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: That's not a problem. Where you want to take this is your responsibility. I would like to make one thing clear: this investigation was not into the government but into a council in a Liberal-held area. There was no gain by me to terminate the investigation, as if there is some sort of conspiracy.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: No, I don't. There we pick it up. I terminated it regardless. I terminated it because it was in the best interests of the state of South Australia and the taxpayers. Secondly, there seems to be some failure for people to understand the enormity of the Supreme Court's decision, which ruled three sections of the terms of reference—

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink interjecting:

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: Will you be quiet and let me speak? Do you want to hear this or don't you? They don't, and that is the very issue with all this. The only person in this debate who cares about the people of Burnside is myself. The only person who cares about Burnside is myself. I would like to ask the question: just say I was prepared to spend another $2 million or $3 million to complete the report, and a report came back to me, what would I be expected to do with it? The only power I have is to sack the council. The reality is that the old council on which this investigation was launched is gone. It is an absolute nonsense. By all means go where you want with this. I have terminated the investigation, and it will go no further as far as I am concerned. It is the Burnside council who is going to suffer in all of this, and it is going to continue to be tarnished with what happened with the previous council. If that is what you want to do, by all means but, as the minister, I will not spend one more cent on this investigation.

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