HOUSING CONSTRUCTION GRANT

Ms BETTISON (Ramsay) (14:45): My question is to the Minister for Housing and Urban Development. Can the minister inform the house of any information provided to the private sector on the effect of the government's first home owner and construction grant announcements?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON (Elder—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (14:45): The immediate response from the Leader of the Opposition is to scoff, to laugh and scoff. I will remember that as we—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The member for Norwood is off already. I haven't said anything yet.

The SPEAKER: Minister, sit down for a moment. Can we have some order, please? I also ask ministers to speak directly into their microphones as we are getting a lot of complaints from people that they are not able to hear what is happening. We can hear the interjections but not the ministers.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I will be very happy to answer this important question. I can tell the member for Norwood that he can speak over his leader in television interviews but he will not speak over me.

Mr MARSHALL: Point of order, Madam Speaker: 98, debate.

The SPEAKER: Thank you.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I am sick of responding to interjections.

The SPEAKER: That is right, you are responding to interjections. I would ask you to return to the question.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I am not sure whether the man interjects or has a tic.

Mr MARSHALL: Madam Speaker, the minister is completely ignoring your ruling, which is that he is entering into debate in his answer.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. The minister will get back to the question.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: But he does get noticed.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I would like to start answering the questions. That is the point I would make, Madam Speaker, because I have been interrupted from the moment I stood up—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Absolutely. There are too many interjections. Minister.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: If he was a 10 year old I would swear that he was attention seeking. Since we announced the two grants in question—and I remind the house that we did this because of the state of the residential construction industry in South Australia, an industry which we treat as very important, an industry which puts roofs over heads and puts people in jobs, and which is absolutely vital to the economic wellbeing of this—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Bragg! You will leave the chamber if you continue.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: We announced that as a result of the Construction Industry Round Table organised by the Premier. It flowed directly from that, from us talking directly to industry.

The SPEAKER: I did not ask the member for Bragg to leave. I told her that she may have to leave if she continues.

Ms Chapman: I am speaking to your Clerk.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: A little flutter in the breast there.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Madam Speaker, can I have some protection from this mob?

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Like I said, if he talks over his leader, he will talk over me, but I will wait. Since we announced this grant, which flowed from that round table—I might say that one of the other things that flowed from the round table was a move to private certifiers, again in the interests of the—

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Point of order, Madam Speaker. Yesterday the Treasurer was asked this question, about the response to the government's home construction grants, and the Treasurer gave the house details about the number of phone calls and responses received. I wonder whether this question is therefore in order.

The SPEAKER: The question yesterday, member for Davenport, was last week's response to the government's new Housing Construction Grant. The question here looks as though it is provided by the private sector on the effect of the government's First Home Owner Grant. Do you see it as a different question, minister?

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Madam Speaker, yesterday the Treasurer in his answer referred to the private sector grants that were matching the government grants. He actually raised that issue in his answer. This question and answer was dealt with yesterday, Madam Speaker.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I will explain.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister for Transport, if you have something further to add to this question, then I would suggest you do so.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: It is not surprising—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: —and here he goes again, his Tourette's-like tic.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister for Transport, back to the—

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The information I wish to provide to the member for Davenport which he doesn't want to hear is what the private sector has said as a result of our grants. I will provide the house because it is important, even if he doesn't care. The only person I know to have criticised this grant, and that is why he doesn't want to hear it.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Point of order, Madam Speaker. The minister is saying that I don't care about the grant and that I criticise the grant. We voted for it yesterday.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: You criticised it. I heard you on the radio.

The SPEAKER: I think that was more of a personal explanation. Minister.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Since we introduced—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Again, I point out that the member for Norwood has one distinction from the former deputy leader: he yells louder.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Well, stop interjecting.

Mr MARSHALL: Point of order, Madam Speaker. The minister must answer the substance of the question.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. You will both sit down.

Mr MARSHALL: He is straying as per usual because he has nothing to say.

The SPEAKER: Member for Norwood, sit down.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! This is ridiculous. I know it is Halloween but this is ridiculous. They don't come out until midnight, not 2 o'clock. Minister.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I promise I will say nothing more about the member for Norwood if he can exercise a little courtesy and allow me to speak. Since we announced this grant, the very next day at the Bowden development, the inquiries for that day reached 23 which was more than double the same day of the week before.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: And they are not interested. The total inquiries for the week—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Madam Speaker, I ask for some protection. If he doesn't want me to respond to his inane interjections.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, Minister for Mining!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: —were up a 145 per cent increase on the previous week. Woodville West saw an 80 per cent increase during the week. Elizabeth Park, which I don't remember being talked about, increased by 40 per cent. Hawksbury Park increased by 30 and 40 per cent. The Playford development in the north saw a 150 per cent increase on inquiries from the previous week—a tripling of the amount of traffic through the sales centre. UNO has seen a four to fivefold increase in the city. Can I say, the information provided by the Property Council is that the $8,500 grant has seen the inking of contracts in the city which we will see as a result several apartment developments start to come out of the ground shortly. Isn't that what we wanted to see out of it?

Even though apparently it is old information to these people, I haven't heard it before. If I can keep the little fellow quiet for a moment, if I can go to Andrew Hudson of Forme Projex. Forme Projex, for those who don't know, is only a small developer and highly boutique. What Andrew Hudson says is that they have already converted a couple of general inquiries into firm sales. What that means is that firm sales came about as a result of an initiative of this government. It came about from us talking to the industry, as a result of talking to the industry. We went to a press conference with the Housing Industry Association, the UDIA, the Master Builders, the Real Estate Institute, all of them. All of those great fellow travellers of Labor—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: —to announce a joint marketing program. My inane friend is holding something up. It might be that manifesto he helped to pen where he has promised to meet someone one day.

Mr MARSHALL: Point of order, Madam Speaker. The minister has now gone for over eight minutes on a topic that we actually addressed yesterday.

The SPEAKER: Thank you, deputy leader.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: You have made your point of order. Sit down.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Well, I'll finish, Madam Speaker. I was interrupted. I will finish on this point. What they don't want to hear is us talking about jobs, and what were they doing in that fortnight?—arguing about one job only.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!