Senator COOK (Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (2:52 PM) —My question is to Senator Minchin, the Minister for Industry, Science and Resources. How does the minister justify the appointment, announced typically last Friday afternoon, of former Senator Warwick Parer as Chairman of the COAG—Council of Australian Governments—Independent Review of Energy Market Directions? Is the minister aware that Mr Parer has resumed the directorships of the various coalmining companies that he held before becoming Minister for Resources and Energy? Given that these directorships were seen as a conflict of interest with his ministerial responsibilities, even by Mr Parer himself, is the conflict between his private interests and his public duty as chairman of a supposedly independent review of energy market directions not patently obvious? Does it not warrant his disqualification from that position?

Senator MINCHIN (Minister for Industry, Science and Resources) —I am delighted that Warwick Parer has accepted the government's invitation to chair this very important review of energy market directions. It is hard to think of anyone as well qualified as Warwick Parer to chair this very important review of energy market directions in Australia. He is a former Minister for Resources and Energy. He does—as indeed Senator Cook has just pointed out—have enormous experience in the business of energy, unlike most people in the Labor Party. I regard that as a particular attribute for performing this function on behalf of the nation. He will do a great job, and I look forward to working with him over the next 12 months in completing that review.

Under the COAG agreement it was always the intention that the Commonwealth would appoint the chairman and the states would appoint the two other members. We are still waiting for the states—most of which, as you know, are Labor—to come up with their appointments for this review. We want this review to get under way as soon as possible. We have done our bit under COAG in appointing an excellent chairman, and I wish that the states, most of which are Labor, would hurry up and give us their nominations for the other two members of this important review.

Senator COOK —Madam President, I have a supplementary question. I notice the minister never actually answered the question about a conflict of interest, and I now invite him to do so in the moments available to him for the supplementary answer. Did the minister at least consider Mr Parer's very substantial coal interests before appointing him to head this review? Did he consult all state governments about the appointment? If so, did all of them indicate their agreement or was it the right of the Commonwealth without consulting the states? How much will Mr Parer be paid for this review. Finally, did the minister really mean to cite in last Friday's press release Mr Parer's `wealth of experience' as a qualification for this job or did he mean `experience of wealth'?

Senator MINCHIN (Minister for Industry, Science and Resources) —I have very little to add to my previous answer. The remuneration is in accordance with Remuneration Tribunal guidelines for activities of this kind. The appointment was on the basis, as agreed by COAG, that the Commonwealth would appoint the chairman and the states would be responsible for appointing the two other members. As I said before, I wish the states would hurry up and nominate the two other members of this review so we can get on with it.