HOUSING FINANCE

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (16:04): My question is to the Treasurer. Why, after 10 years of Labor, does South Australia have the worst housing finance figures in the nation? ABS housing finance data reveals that South Australia had the worst figures in August, the worst figures in the past 12 months, and the worst figures in the last two years, declining by 33 per cent.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Treasurer, Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, Minister for Workers Rehabilitation) (16:04): Madam Speaker, it is exactly the same question as was asked by the Leader of the Opposition except using a different indicator—a different indicator but exactly the same question—and the answer is—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Norwood!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: The answer is exactly the same. The answer is simply that—

Mr Williams: That you've failed.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Just keep looking for that petition, mate.

Mr Williams: You're bad managers, that's the answer, you're bad managers.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I know you aspire to be a minister; I don't know how you can be a minister if you can't so much as table a petition in this place, but anyway—

Mr Williams: Take the allegation outside, Jack.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I'm happy to go outside and say you've lost a petition that you were meant to table, mate! If you want to sue me, go for it!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I will more than happily say that outside, mate; no problem. Eight hundred people signed this petition.

An honourable member: What on?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Eight hundred people, about school amalgamations, and he lost it. He has lost it. Very angry residents—very angry residents about losing a petition—not happy! Not to mention the people who organised the petition and had to go and collect 800 signatures and now they have to go back to them and ask them for them all over again!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Point of order, member for MacKillop.

Mr WILLIAMS: I have been listening to the Treasurer whose answer has got nothing to do with the—

The Hon. J.J. Snelling: Anyway, it is, Madam Speaker—

The SPEAKER: Order, Treasurer!

Mr WILLIAMS: I have been listening to the Treasurer's answer, Madam Speaker, and it has got nothing to do with the question.

The SPEAKER: Thank you, member for MacKillop. Treasurer, I would ask you to get back to the question and not the petition.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I apologise, Madam Speaker, I was being provoked. The answer is exactly the same and that is: of course, we are going through difficult economic times and, on many of the indicators, we will see a downturn as part of the normal fluctuations in the economy, and that is being compounded, of course, by world events.

Mr Williams: By your management.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Of course, the other thing is—

Mr Williams: Compounded by your management!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Madam Speaker, I mean—

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: The other feature of the Australian economy at the moment is extraordinarily high savings ratios. In fact, Australia has among the highest savings ratios in the world.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Of course, that is a positive thing; that is a good thing but it is having an impact on growth in our economy.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Point of order, member for MacKillop.

Mr WILLIAMS: Australian savings ratios might be very interesting but the question was: why are we suffering from the worst numbers—

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: What's the point of order?

Mr WILLIAMS: Relevance to the question!

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for MacKillop, sit down. I don't uphold that point of order. The Treasurer can answer as he chooses; he is not debating.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: It simply means the member for MacKillop doesn't understand—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: He doesn't understand, that's the only problem with the member for MacKillop. So, of course, what we're saying at the moment with all the world economic events—a downturn in the economy—but the important thing is this: in coming years this state economy will be absolutely turbo-charged. All the indicators will be extremely positive indeed. In fact, if we're going to have any difficulties it's going to be problems with labour supply—having enough workers to take the jobs—and that is why the government is making an investment of $194 million over six years to create 100,000 jobs—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for MacKillop!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: —to create 100,000 training places. That is the reason why we are turning on its head our vocational education and training system to create a training entitlement. You groan all you want because I know if it has to be explained in words of more than two syllables then the opposition turn off; they don't understand. Yet to get a single question on the Skills for All.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Yet to get a single question on the Skills for All reforms, Madam Speaker.

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Davenport.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I'm happy to correct that if I'm wrong, but to my recollection I am yet to get a single question on the Skills for All reforms—all these things, and, of course, governance reforms in TAFE, which is another area where I'm yet to get a single question. There are all of these things that the government is doing to position our state for the extraordinary economic growth and the extraordinary demands that that is going to put on our state labour force, to make sure that we are able to accommodate those demands, and to make sure that our state makes the most out of the extraordinary opportunities that we are about to witness.