STATE BUDGET

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (14:23): Why did the Treasurer tell the house and the media yesterday that the net operating surplus was due to lower operating expenses of $80 million when the facts, spelt out in the final budget outcome document 2006-07, show that expenses forecast in the 2006-07 budget papers blew out by $374 million? The final budget outcome for 2006-07 (page 1.4) shows that the 2006-07 budget papers anticipated total expenses of $11.173 billion, but that an outcome of $11.547 billion was recorded; an unbudgeted increase of $374 million in government expenses. The Treasurer yesterday, in his statements to the house, used an unsubstantiated overestimate he had put into the 2007-08 budget of what he thought the blow-out would be, in order to claim lower operating expenses of $80 million. This process was incorrect, and would not stand up to—

The SPEAKER: Order! The member's—

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I have withdrawn leave.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Federal/State Relations) (14:24): I do not know what the standing orders are, but this is identical to a question that the leader asked last night during questions with respect to the Auditor-General's Report. I gave a detailed and appropriate response, which he accepted. Yesterday I released the final budget outcome, which is a Treasury document. If the member is honestly suggesting that I would somehow doctor a Treasury document, that is a most serious allegation and I want to see proof of that, because I am offended. What I said last night and what I will say now is that what the member is referring to, as I explained last night, is that in any given year there are certain parameter variations that occur, and they occur—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: They occurred when you were in government and they occur every year. They are such things as commonwealth special purpose payments that are paid throughout the course of the year that were not expected or budgeted for. I think I am right in saying we had a very large amount of AusLink money that the commonwealth government decided to pay to us in that year, which I think was in excess of $100 million, from memory. That is simply a pass-through number. There are also—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: You would have no idea, Vickie; honestly, absolutely no idea. As I said last night, then there were issues related to the returns—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: You have no idea. You keep talking about borrowings to prop up the operating account.

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for MacKillop!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: That's a lie.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I withdraw the lie, sir.

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Both members will take their seat. The member for MacKillop will cease to interject and the Treasurer will withdraw the remark, 'That's a lie.'

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Absolutely, sir. I apologise and withdraw. It is a massive untruth, sir. He is a nincompoop when it comes to financial reading of the state budget. But, as I said, I explained that question last night. The Leader of the Opposition was quite happy with the explanation last night but, of course, he has an audience today and he wants to trot it out again. If that is the best he can do in this house—

Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Well, these are very poor questions. You are not very good at what you do.

The SPEAKER: Order!