They ask the hard questions down in Adelaide

I sometimes go on about the quality of the media in Adelaide and how the local journalists are usually under Media Mike's thumb.

Well Crikey has nailed it with this expose on what really happened at the old Mitsubishi site - I hope they won't mind me re-posting it here.

Read it and weep South Australian's - and then you might like to ask Mr Foley and Mr Rann to "please explain".

"You've got to hand it to Adelaide's political media (well not really, because that's how the state government runs them) with their coverage of Wednesday's sale of Mitsubishi's old assembly plant at Tonsley Park. According to the media release from state Treasurer Kevin Foley, the state has bought the site for $32 million and will turn it into a hi-tech dreamland for businesses that don't exist yet. This will create thousands of jobs, apparently.

But here's the truth; Mitsubishi was required as land owner to remediate the site and was also required under federal law to provide and store 10 years of spare parts for the cars they built there. Part of the state government purchase deal is free rent at the site for Mitsubishi's corporate headquarters and free rent for the storage of spare parts. Because they are still on the site (now as a lessee) and it is still zoned industrial, there are no clean-up costs.

The value of this bonus to Mitsubishi is $20 million. That value was not included in the purchase price announced by the Treasurer on Wednesday. If a company tried to hide such arrangements when declaring sale prices of commercial property, it would be prosecuted for evading stamp duty. So, why the secrecy? Why does Mitsubishi, who sacked several thousand workers a couple of years ago, get such a great deal from the state?

Wheels within wheels, my friends. And how is it that at a press conference to discuss this deal not one Adelaide journo asked about the value of the free rent and storage deal? Because all you have to do is *hand it to them*".