Grievance Debate

FORESTRYSA

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:13): I am deeply disturbed at that news you just gave the house and I feel very deeply for those people involved, as I am sure all members do. It is tough news.

Notwithstanding that, today I want to take the opportunity to talk about the forestry industry in the South-East, the importance of that industry to the state and the arrogant way in which this government is treating that industry and the livelihood and the welfare of all the people of the South-East of this state. If members of this government got out of their offices, got out of their ivory towers—

An honourable member interjecting:

Mr WILLIAMS: Yes, the Treasurer was in Darwin.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

Mr WILLIAMS: Yes, I was in Darwin too.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! We are now in grievance time. Will you please be quiet and listen to the member in silence, both sides of the house. Both sides of the house are as rude as each other.

Mr WILLIAMS: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I was saying that if the members of this government got out and connected with the community—as the Premier advised following the recent state election when the majority of the voters of this state sent a message that they did not want this government—they would understand that their decision to forward sell the rotations or the harvest rights of our forests is a dumb decision and it is one that the people, certainly those in the South-East, do not want.

If the members of this government had even walked out on the front steps of this building at midday today, they would have seen the level of feeling of the people from the South-East. The people of the South-East have faced up to almost a 1,000-kilometre round trip to come up here to inform the members of this government of their feelings. Yet, the Treasurer, the Premier and the Minister for Forests did not have the courtesy to walk out in front of this building and talk to those people—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Excuse me, member for MacKillop, I am sorry—you will have all of your time—but can I just remind the cameras in the Strangers Gallery that you are actually meant to filming the person on his feet and not anyone else. Thank you. Sorry, member for MacKillop.

Mr WILLIAMS: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I was saying that if the members of this government were connecting they would have had the courtesy to walk out the front door of this building today and mingle with people from the South-East they would have known instantly. They would not have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a consultancy to work out what is going on and what is the mindset of the people in the South-East.

Might I say that the Treasurer will have us believe that he needs to maintain his AAA credit rating, and that is why he wants to flog off the forest. I invite members to pick up Budget Paper 3, turn to page B1 to the table headed 'General government key operating statement aggregates'. There are some interesting figures there. There are two columns, one that shows the percentage of GSP, which is the revenues of the gross state product, and the other column shows the percentage of GSP, which is the expenses of the gross state product—so, the government revenues as a percentage of the gross state product and the government expenses as a percentage of the gross state product.

This government has been in office since 2002. In 2001-02, the total expenditure of the government of South Australia was 15.9 per cent—15.9 per cent—of the gross state product. In the most recent financial year, 2009-10, that percentage has risen to 18.9 per cent, so the expenditure of the state government as a percentage of the gross state product has increased by three full percentage points, from 15.9 per cent to 18.9 per cent, under the watch of this government.

Might I suggest to members that therein lies the problem. It is not the global financial crisis. It has got nothing to do with what is happening in Ireland, Spain or Greece. It is the failure of this Treasurer, this cabinet and this government to manage the state's finances.

We have seen an increase in growth in expenditure. This increased figure that I have quoted has got nothing to do with the state gross domestic product falling; it is about an increase of some 76 per cent in the expenditure of the state government of South Australia between 2001-02 and 2009-10 from $8.7 billion to $15.8 billion.

In that same period, the full-time adult average earnings of South Australians increased from $805 to $1,172—a mere 46 per cent, virtually half of the increase in expenditure of this government under this failed Treasurer. That is why this Treasurer is spinning the line that he has to sell the state's forests. All he wants to do is flog them off, bring forward all the revenues which we would otherwise experience over the next 20 or 30 years, and spend it today.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, member for MacKillop. I should just reassure you that you did get the extra minute for when I interrupted you. The member for Mawson.