House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1) 52 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Debt Exposure DEBT EXPOSURE The Hon. I.F. EVANS House of Assembly Davenport DEBT EXPOSURE The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (5:02): My question is to the Treasurer, being coached by the former treasurer. Who is right: the Treasurer who said 'I have no reason to believe that we have any specific exposure to what is going on in the US,' or the Auditor-General, who said in his report tabled yesterday, regarding state revenues, that 'internationally there remain risks, including the sovereign debt issues of European Union nations and the United States of America's fiscal position'? The Hon. J.J. SNELLING House of Assembly Playford Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education Minister for Workers Rehabilitation DEBT EXPOSURE The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Treasurer, Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, Minister for Workers Rehabilitation) (15:03): There is no inconsistency between both remarks; they are both true. Of course in a general way we are not insulated from what is going on in the rest of the world; of course what happens in the United States and what happens in Europe— Mr Pisoni interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Unley is warned for a second time. The Hon. J.J. SNELLING House of Assembly The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: —has an impact on the general economic conditions that we face in South Australia, but in terms of the member for Davenport's original question, my recollection is that it was: did we have any specific exposure to what was going on in the United States at the time, to which the answer is no. We do not have any specific exposure to what is going on in the United States. Of course, we are not an island; we are a trading economy and are affected by— An honourable member interjecting: The Hon. J.J. SNELLING House of Assembly The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Australia is an island, and South Australia is part of an island. Mr Bignell interjecting: The Hon. J.J. SNELLING House of Assembly The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: No man is an island, indeed. Thank you, member for Mawson; he has taken the role of the member for Croydon in terms of pedantry in the chamber. Of course we are not insulated from what goes on in the global economy. There is no inconsistency between what the Auditor-General has said and what I have said.