Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources) Share this | Hansard source

No, I'm not confused. First of all, referring to the RIC as a front, I think, is probably a very misleading way to be describing it. Certainly, the opportunity exists for service providers to be able to provide services to the RIC, like any other outsourcing of service delivery that were to occur within a statutory organisation.

However, as I stated before, the decisions about the operation, particularly about outsourcing and the operation and delivery of the assets of the RIC, are a matter for the incoming RIC board. So, apart from being able to say to you, Senator Brown, that the opportunity exists for outsourcing to occur, it would be entirely inappropriate for me to be giving direction to the RIC board about what they should or should not be outsourcing. Suffice to say, powers and opportunities exist for the RIC to do that under the terms of its operating mandate. I'm not sure I can give you any more information than that.