House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time South Australian Economy SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY Mrs REDMOND House of Assembly Heysen Leader of the Opposition SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:18): My question is again to the Minister for Finance. If South Australia is not in recession, why are building approval figures at 11-year lows, property sales figures at 27-year lows, retail sales figures the worst in the nation and fewer people in full-time employment than there were when your government promised 100,000 new jobs? Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly Cheltenham Premier Minister for State Development The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:18): Can I supply to the house some other material which gives an entirely different perspective about the South Australian economy. Those opposite obviously seek to scrounge around for all of the material that they can find to talk down the South Australian economy. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We know from the most recent published data in relation to gross state product that the South Australian economy grew by a solid 2.4 per cent in 2010-11. They are the most recent gross state product figures, and that was above the economic growth rate of the national average, which was 2.1 per cent. They are the last published figures. The next gross state product figures will be published later this year and we will compare them with last year. That is the present state of play and what we know about the growth of our state economy. I am sure you can find some areas of the economy that will be performing more strongly than others, but to selectively choose those areas of the economy which are not growing strongly— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —and ignore others that are growing strongly— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —creates an entirely inappropriate picture of the South Australian economy. So, I simply supply some additional material which will allow the house to put what has just been said in context and it is this: overall new business investment in South Australia rose by 4.3 per cent in the December quarter 2011; the state's unemployment rate of 5.2 per cent is down from 5.5 per cent a year ago. So, it has come down from a year ago—not gone up, gone down from a year ago. Spending on mining and petroleum exploration increased by 57 per cent through the year to September 2011 and, in trend terms, compared with national growth of 45 per cent during the same period—so higher than national trend growth over the same period in respect of spending on mineral and petroleum exploration. What could be a stronger indicator of the health of the economy for the future? South Australian crop production, the very numbers that are not included in state final demand— An honourable member House of Assembly An honourable member: Yes, it rained. The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I'm sorry, we actually regard grain as part of the economy. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The South Australian crop production in 2011-12 looks likely to be the third highest on record, following the record crop in 2010-11. Is it not worthy to mention these things and create a complete picture of the economy, rather than seeking to choose those things which create a false impression of the South Australian economy? There is a record total of $109 billion worth of major projects occurring or in the planning stage in this state and the state government is, obviously, undertaking the very substantial capital works that I referred to before. What would be the motivation of those opposite to actually talk down the South Australian economy in this way? Why would they choose— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —to do that? All of this material was canvassed a few weeks ago. What would be the motivation in returning to it, except calculating to reduce confidence in the South Australian economy? Why would you do that? Why would you actually do that? There is no new information in the public sphere. This is precisely the way they do their business: they wake up in the morning, they read the paper and then they tell us all what it means. Well, we can read. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Mr WILLIAMS House of Assembly Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order, Madam Speaker. The Premier is now debating the answer to the question. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Thank you for that, Deputy Leader of the Opposition. I think the Premier has finished his answer. The member for Light.