STATE ECONOMY

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (14:35): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier outline for the house information about the recent performance of the South Australian economy?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:35): If you want to talk about comparisons on the economy I am more than happy to do so. Okay? Because we know what your vision is. It is to get rid of the Stobie poles, and we know the price—$34.3 billion.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Oh, apparently it is now 'over time'. It is up until 2020, or something, but, of course, that is about $2 billion a year. But, never mind, we are not sure what they are going to do to close the hospitals—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Privatisation will be back big time. Anyway, yesterday I spoke on Mitsubishi and all that we are doing to ensure that the workers affected by the closure who want jobs will get them. The strong economic performance of South Australia gives us solid reason to believe that this can be achieved and that Mitsubishi workers and their families can enjoy a secure future.

Since this government came to office, less than six years ago, almost 85,000 additional jobs have been created—85,000 more jobs. That means that total employment has been growing under this government at 2 per cent a year. But what was the record—I know that people want some comparison. Politics is about compare and contrast. What was the record of those opposite when the Leader of the Opposition sat around the cabinet table? He was there. He was one of the champions of privatisation.

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson: The guilty.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: One of the guilty party. In their eight long years of privatisation and budget deficit, jobs growth was less than half that, at an average of 0.9 per cent per year. Since March 2002—and this is a very important figure—full-time jobs have grown by 63,200, meaning that full-time jobs have provided about three-quarters of the total growth in jobs.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: No, they are not interested in full-time jobs, because they are about casualisation of the workforce. Full-time jobs under this government have grown at 2.2 per cent a year, on average. But what was the record of those opposite? Was it half the rate? No. Was it a quarter of the rate at which full-time jobs have been growing under this government? No, it was not. Was it a tenth? No. Under the previous government full-time jobs grew by an annual average of only 0.1 per cent. Not 2.2, but 0.1 per cent; that is, full-time jobs growth—

Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Oh, I see. I know he wants to avoid the final crunch number. Full-time jobs growth under this government has been more than 20 times the rate under the previous Liberal government. The unemployment rate has fallen from its March 2002 level of 6.9 per cent to 5 per cent today, a fall made all the more remarkable by the fact that so many more people are actively seeking work. The participation rate—and I will explain that to members opposite at a later date—which measures the proportion of people actively seeking work, has risen from 60.6 per cent in March 2002 to 63.2 per cent in December 2007. Under the Liberals, it fell from 61.5 per cent in December 1993 to 60.5 per cent in February 2002. In December 2007, we had a new record high in the number of South Australians in jobs—namely, 775,300—the ninth consecutive monthly rise.

Aspects of our performance such as exports have been affected by the drought. As Access Economics has commented, no state has suffered more than SA from the current drought. But the signs for a strong future are met with continuing high levels of business confidence and with those businesses putting their money where their mouth is. Now nearly $45 billion of major projects is in the pipeline, and private new capital investment has achieved all-time highs. For the year to September 2007, private new capital expenditure was $4.9 billion—the highest level since records began.

Investment spending in the mining industry grew by 70 per cent in the year to September 2007—I repeat: 70 per cent growth in one year—because we are the party of mining. I know that people refer to me as 'Pig Iron Bob' or 'Yellowcake Rann', but I do not care. We went out there to get mining exploration going. The SA Centre for Economic Studies is expecting mining investment to increase by a staggering 217 per cent this year.

The good news is not confined to mining or defence but the investment surge in these sectors is simply remarkable. Today we are enjoying strong economic conditions and we are building on those opportunities to create an even stronger future because that is the difference: for you, your only policy was privatisation, and we stopped that in its tracks on day one.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the Leader of the Opposition.