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| Mike Elliott Leader Australian Democrats Member of the Legislative Council |
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Legislative
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| Mike Elliott Leader Australian Democrats Member of the Legislative Council |
Parliament Index |
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The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: I seek leave to give a brief explanation before asking the Attorney- General, representing the Minister for Government Enterprises, a question about the Holdfast Shores development.
Leave granted.
The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: On 17 February 1999 I asked a question on notice which requested details of the state government's involvement in the Holdfast Shores development. Eventually, on 2 May 2000, almost 15 months later, I received a reply from the Minister for Government Enterprises, as follows:
The government contribution has been identified in the capital works budget papers throughout the course of the project. The government has made a total budget provision of $750 000 per annum for Glenelg Harbour and West Beach Haven maintenance, including dredging.
In relation to sand dredging, I note that the maintenance figure was about $450 000 greater than that claimed by the Minister for Transport on 28 September 1999 in this place when she said:
Direct maintenance costs for dredging of the harbour to the end of June 1999 were $306 000. Future expenses for further dredging are not expected to exceed this figure.
I note also that the response from the Minister for Government Enterprises did not state how much was spent on harbour maintenance in the years 1999 and 2000, only what was budgeted. As a consequence, I lodged a second question on notice to the minister to which he replied on 20 July this year, as follows:
It is understood that the annual funding of $750 000 has been exceeded due to a number of factors.
Still no answer was given as to how much was spent. On 18 October this year the Minister for Transport released details to the Guardian Messenger . The minister said that the amount spent on seaweed removal and sand dredging was $1.24 million for 1999-2000 and that the budgeted amount was $ 2.2 million for the year 2000-01-figures confirmed by the minister's office to the ABC just yesterday.
While I commend the Minister for Transport for finally releasing some figures to the South Australian public, I am disappointed that the Minister for Government Enterprises has refused to face scrutiny in parliament by answering questions that have been outstanding for 1½ years. Secondly, there is the issue of the state government's lack of accountability and its failure to provide me with capital works budget papers. My office made a number of requests to see the papers referred to in the minister's answer (because without those papers the answer was incomplete). These papers clarify the detail of the state government's involvement in the Holdfast Shores development and were implied to be easily available in the answer given by the Minister for Government Enterprises on 2 May this year. Up until this time I have still not been offered those papers so that they might be examined.
The response I received from the Minister for Government Enterprises on 20 July did little more than repeat the vague figures of the previous response. Even despite promises from the Treasurer's office in May that I would receive information on these issues in a week, it seems that Minister Armitage's office has not seen fit to help the Treasurer honour this promise and I am still yet to receive those documents.
It is in this context of almost 18 months of trying to get answers on the state government's role in the Holdfast Shores development that I note reports in yesterday's Advertiser that the state government is a joint venturer in the project. This means that the state government is responsible for carrying out environmental impact assessments, approving construction, as well as maximising profits. This raises serious questions about a potential conflict of interest.
As information continues to slowly seep out through the growing cracks in the state government's cone of silence, the real situation looks increasingly like a cover-up of bungled environmental decisions and conflicts of interest rather than any attempt to protect commercial confidentiality. In fact, in a one-off venture with no future competitors it leads one to ask whether recent claims by the Minister for Government Enterprises of commercial confidentiality are indeed just an excuse for lack of accountability. My questions to the minister are:
1. When will the full details of the state government's involvement in the Holdfast Shores development be made known by the capital works budget papers being put on the public record?
2. Will the minister confirm that the budgeted cost for sand-dredging and seaweed removal has blown out to $2.2 million this year? Will the minister reassure the South Australian public there will be no further blow-outs beyond this budgeted figure?
3. What is the budgeted cost per annum for sand-dredging and seaweed removal in future years?
4. Will the minister explain to the South Australian public why the state government's role as both the joint venturer in the Holdfast Shores project and with responsibility for environmental impact assessment, and therefore subsequent approval to proceed, should not be seen as a conflict of interest?
The Hon. K.T. GRIFFIN (Attorney-General): I will refer the questions to my colleague in another place and bring back a reply.
See Government Response (13 March 2001; 3 July 2001)
