Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-10-20 Daily Xml

Contents

Riverland

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:26): Supplementary: when will the minister next be visiting the Riverland?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I actually didn't hear the supplementary question, so I can't even rule on it. Will you stand up and repeat it, please, and then we will work out whether—

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: Yes, with pleasure, Mr President.

The PRESIDENT: So your supplementary question was?

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: When will the minister be next visiting the Riverland?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:26): I am not quite sure how that does arise from the original answer, but given that I have already—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister, you did give quite a wideranging answer, which is why I think the supplementary question is in order. You may answer it how you see fit.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Indeed.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: I would be happy to answer it if those opposite would actually want to listen to it, but since they are making so much noise they are clearly not interested.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Very fair comment. Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Given that in the six months that I have been minister I have visited the Riverland, I think, four times so far, all of those times have been very, very useful—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Leader of the Government won't bait the opposition.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: —and I note that the Minister for Environment and Water has also visited on a number of occasions, as well as other ministers. In fact, the first time that I visited, which I think was within four weeks of becoming minister, at that time people I was visiting with said, 'It's so wonderful to see a government minister. Under the previous government, we saw the environment minister'—according to them—'once and then he never came back again.' That is the then environment minister, who is now Leader of the Opposition, who according to what those people said visited the Riverland once and then was never seen again.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter, I liked you more when you had your mask on.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: I will put it back on for you, sir.

The PRESIDENT: Thank you. The honourable Leader of the Opposition, your third question.