STATE DEBT

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (14:34): My question is to the Treasurer. What is the Treasurer's position on state debt? Is it as he first told the house yesterday, and I quote: 'I will not allow this state to run up a credit card debt which will be left to our children to have to pay,' or is it, as he told the house just ten minutes later, 'Of course we are going to increase the state debt'?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Treasurer, Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education) (14:35): The opposition was telling the media yesterday that the member for Davenport was going to kick me around the chamber. I am still waiting for that to happen. I am sure—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: —he will work himself up over time. The simple fact is you don't want to be incurring debt on basically the day-to-day expenses of running government. You don't want to be running up—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Treasurer, sit down.

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: It is a simple financial concept. Anyone who runs a normal household budget would understand that if you live off your credit card on your day-to-day expenses and run up your credit card debt you are going to be in trouble. However, I suspect that most of us here have this thing called a mortgage, and a mortgage is about borrowing for capital assets that you are going to hold for a period of time. For governments, it is important that we invest in infrastructure because we increase the productive capacity of the South Australian economy so those borrowings end up paying for themselves.

So of course there is a difference between increasing your debt in order to undertake infrastructure spending. That is exactly what this government has been doing. That is why our debt levels will go up—because we are investing in increasing the productive capacity of the South Australian economy.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I know this is all too difficult for you lot. I know it is hard to understand, but I will try to make it as simple as possible, try to keep it—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: It's all right, I can feel your pain. I feel your pain. It is a simple concept: you increase your debt but, if you are going to do that, you do it on increasing the productive capacity of the economy, you put it into infrastructure—and that's exactly what this government has been doing.