19 October 2023
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:54): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Minister for Regional Development on the topic of tertiary education.
Leave granted.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: Last week, the Australia Institute released a report that looked at the lack of transparency in decision-making around the proposed merger of the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide. The Australia Institute has commissioned a poll that found that 88 per cent of South Australians in regional areas believe that the full business case for the merger should be made public.
The report also showed a high level of support for releasing the business case across the voters of all major political parties, with more than 84 per cent of Labor voters agreeing that the business case should be made public. My question to the minister therefore is: does the minister share the concern of people living in the regions that she represents that the community has a right to see this business case?
The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:56): I think this issue has been ventilated well and truly. The position of the government is on the record.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:56): Supplementary?
The PRESIDENT: If you can get a supplementary question out of that, the Hon. Mr Simms, you are a genius.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: Has the minister seen the business case? The people of the regions certainly haven't.
The PRESIDENT: No, sorry, you can't get one out of there.