Question Time

STATE ECONOMY

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (14:03): Can the Premier explain the reasons behind the national account figures released today that show South Australia's growth has been 'the most sluggish of all states'? Today's national account figures released by the ABS show that, in real terms, South Australia's state final demand growth was again the lowest of all states over the last 12 months. It further shows that, in real terms, South Australia's business investment has fallen 11.5 per cent since the March 2007 assessment. We are the only state to record a fall in business investment in the last 12 months. The falls in business investment are highlighted as the major cause for the sluggish South Australian economy.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Federal/State Relations) (14:04): The Leader of the Opposition is getting a very significant reputation as being a knocker and a whinger at every opportunity. Anyone who seriously suggests that our economy is sluggish in this state is in cloud cuckoo-land. I am not sure what data the leader is referring to, and I will have a look at it. I was just provided with a brief as I walked into question time.

I have before me now the official Treasury briefing note dated 4 June 2008—gross domestic product and state final demand March quarter 2008. The leader goes out with a figure of 2.8. Well, I am advised that the March quarter '08 compared to the March quarter '07 is—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Treasury briefings are smoke and mirrors? That is what you used to get in government—is 3.3 per cent: not 2.8. What I do acknowledge—

Mr Williams: It's a different figure!

An honourable member: Bring Chris Kenny in, for God's sake.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Fancy the member for MacKillop trying to give us some economic advice.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: But, hang on, Kevin, didn't all those Independents do well that came in?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Only two.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: Oh, that's right; two of them became ministers.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Two of them became ministers; one of them has remained but a shadow.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: When we look at the seasonally adjusted and real—when we look at the March quarter '08 versus the December quarter '07, we see South Australia 1.5 per cent, which in fact is the strongest in the nation. So, in the shorter time series our numbers are stronger in state final demand. On a longer time frame, they are the lowest in the nation. Why do you think that might be? We are going through the worst drought that the state has probably ever seen.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I think all the data that I have presented to this house on a consistent basis shows two distinct economies at work, and that is that we have a very strong and robust construction, business investment and manufacturing/service sector and a rapidly developing mining sector. That is giving us very strong GSP growth in this state.

What is dragging it down is the farm sector. In the farm sector, because of the ravages of drought, and through the lack of production that is being taken to market from areas such as the Riverland, we are seeing a significant—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I've now got a lawyer giving me economic advice. Jeepers!

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The deputy leader will come to order.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Who is blaming the farmers? Blaming the farmers? I am pointing out that when it does not rain, crops cannot be sown and when crops cannot—I say to the member for Schubert, how was your crop last year?

Mr Venning: Ordinary.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Ordinary! There you go; Ivan just told me it is ordinary. I say to the member for Stuart, how was your crop last season?

The Hon. G.M. Gunn: Down.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Down! There you go: both the member for Stuart—

Ms CHAPMAN: I rise on a point of order. The Treasurer is clearly not answering the questions; he is attempting to ask questions.

The SPEAKER: Order! The house will come to order. If I can interrupt the Treasurer—can I say to members on my left that they are quick to get up and demand that I pull the minister into order because they think he has left the topic of the question, but they consistently interrupt the minister. The Treasurer was giving a straightforward answer to the question that had been asked. I can only do so much if members insist on interjecting and interrupting and trying to talk over the minister on his feet.

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: Point of order, Mr Speaker: does the Treasurer asking questions of the opposition constitute us interrupting the Treasurer?

The SPEAKER: Order! No, if the Leader of the Opposition had listened to what I said, he would not be saying that. That is not what I said. I simply informed members on my left that it is very difficult for the chair to pull ministers into line when they are responding to interjections coming from my left, particularly when the Treasurer, or any minister on his or her feet, is giving what is a straightforward answer to a reasonably straightforward question. It is not necessary to interject and speak over the minister and to try to engage the minister on his feet. That is not the way question time works. Question time works by members asking questions and ministers answering them. Ministers have to be given an opportunity to do that without excessive interruption and without members attempting to engage the minister on his or her feet.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: As I was saying—and I must admit strongly supported by the two elder statesmen of the house, the member for Schubert and the member for Stuart—the response from the member for Schubert about his grain harvest was, 'Very ordinary' and the member for Stuart said—

An honourable member: 'Down.'

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Exactly correct, because it has not been raining. Output from the Riverland is down because it has not been raining in the catchment areas. Our farming sector is a strong contributor to an economy such as ours. We cannot affect that, and I have never hidden the fact in many contributions to this parliament that our farm sector has been very poor now for a number of years due to drought, but our non-farm sector has been doing very well—and how well you might ask?

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: I will. How well?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I will tell you how well it is going. Overseas exports, in the past 12 months—and for students in the gallery this is a lecture from someone who did not finish high school, but never mind—the value of South Australian goods exported totalled $9.9 billion, an increase of 8.5 per cent ($774 million) over the previous year—tick. At the same time that we went up 8.5 per cent in exports, the national increase was only 2.1.

The Hon. R.G. Kerin: It is still only the same as 2001.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: How is your crop? House price indexes: ABS data shows Adelaide house prices have increased by 2.1 per cent during the March quarter and were 22 per cent higher than a year earlier. Nationally house prices have increased 14 per cent. The wealth generation in our economy has been quite substantial in the past 12 months. I refer to the HIA figures on house sales. New home sales in South Australia bounced back in April: it rose by 14.7 per cent. South Australia was second only to the boom state of WA. Nationally sales increased only—you ask—0.1 per cent.

ANZ job advertisements—let us look at this leading indicator. The average number of South Australian weekly job adverts fell by 0.5 per cent during April and was 0.5 per cent lower than a year ago. However, nationally jobs advertised had decreased 1.3 per cent during April and were 7.5 per cent lower over the year. We are 0.5 per cent lower—nationally 7.5. What may you ask is happening in the retail trade market, shops—

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: What is happening?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Good, thank you. It is up 0.6 per cent during April. Our retail sector—we are all out there shopping because we have jobs, wealth generating in the economy and confidence—is now 9.7 per cent higher than a year earlier. South Australia's real and nominal retail trade has outperformed the national average in September 2007. Then, you may ask, motor vehicle sales—

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: What about motor vehicles?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Thank you. New motor vehicle sales in South Australia rose by 0.3 per cent during March to be 8.2 per cent higher than a year earlier on trend. South Australian sales of new motor vehicles in March were at their highest monthly level since January 1994—not bad for an economy. Then, of course, the real key that you would like to know about would be employment data.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: Employment; how's employment going? That was just on the tip of my tongue.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: It was. Employment is up 3.2 per cent and 24,000 new jobs were created over the 12 months to April on trend data. Unemployment of 4.9 per cent, slightly up by 4.6 per cent in March—that is acknowledged—and 87,000 new jobs created since we came to office in March 2002. Then you might ask what is happening out there in—

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: What is happening about building approvals?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: My colleague asks about building approvals. Dwelling approvals fell 0.4 per cent in South Australia during March but were still 20 per cent higher than a year earlier. Falls in dwelling approvals were experienced in all states during April. Housing construction approvals fell 1.7 per cent in March but were still 21 per cent higher than a year ago. With respect to consumers, household consumption spending is up 4.6 per cent. Then members might ask—

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: What about business investment?

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Business investment in new assets has grown 71 per cent from 2001 to 2007. We have a conservative figure of $45 billion of projects in the pipeline, demonstrating consumer confidence.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Yes, down 11 per cent from a very high number. We would like it to keep growing every month, but we are realists: sometimes it will plateau, sometimes it will dip, but the trend is like that, going up. We have 10 operating mines; we have 28 mines in the pipeline to come through; we have Olympic Dam's expansion project; and the air warfare destroyer is yet to come on stream. We have got massive public sector—

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: We've got a battalion coming here.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: We have a battalion coming here. We have massive investment coming through the pipeline, and the opposition just hates it—it just hates it. I thank the Leader of the Opposition for that question. I know this has been a long answer, but I can see that all government members have thoroughly enjoyed it. I notice the member for Taylor taking notes and, I think, the member for Hartley taking notes. Where is she?

Ms Portolesi: I'm here.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: You're there. To wrap it up, farm economy is down, as the members for Schubert and Stuart have said, but the manufacturing and the non-farm economy is booming.