PAYROLL TAX

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (14:45): My question, Mr Speaker, is to the Minister for Small Business. Does the minister agree with the government's own Small Business Development Council's recommendation that the payroll tax threshold should be increased to $800,000 from its current level of $600,000 as the next step in reducing the payroll tax burden?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:46): Those are all matters for consideration in the context of any budget, and they certainly won't be matters that will be speculated upon by this government ahead of any decisions we might take. But can I say this: the current budget has baked into it two very significant payroll tax reductions over this year and next year, halving payroll tax for small businesses—not the confetti that has been thrown around by those opposite—to all businesses in South Australia.

This is a targeted scheme in partnership with targeted programs to get small businesses to invest, those small businesses that have a much higher capacity or indeed propensity to invest. The idea that somehow you would throw a generalised payroll tax relief across the whole of the sector, or indeed—

Mr PISONI: Point of order, sir: this is debate, I believe.

The SPEAKER: Debate? It is a question about payroll tax. The member for Unley was interjecting after being warned a second time; he has now made an entirely bogus and obstructive point of order. If I see his lips move again out of order, I will name him. The Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Thank you, Mr Speaker. What we have in South Australia is, in terms of tax effort, the third lowest payroll tax regime in the nation. So, to pick on that as a taxation area for further reduction does seem to be odd, given our relative strong performance across the nation. But, just going to that, we have already made very targeted important relief, halving payroll tax for small businesses, petering out at $1.2 million in terms of payroll tax.

That is a sensible payroll tax measure, in partnership with banks, together with programs targeted at investment to ensure that there is growth. This seems to be at the heart of that suggestion, and indeed at the heart of the suggestions that those opposite have published in their pamphlet, or brochure, as you would have it—

The Hon. J.J. Snelling: Flyer.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —flyer—is to take essentially a bolus of money and hand it over to business in the hope that they would invest; whereas what we know is that when you hand over money in an untargeted fashion like that the more likely thing is that people will put it in their pockets. That's what would happen with this money. It would not flow down to ordinary South Australians in terms of jobs, or activity, or benefits; it would end up in the pockets of their business mates, and this is the difference between us and them.

This is the difference about how we construct public policy, not some ideological rant that we are going to get out of the way, or we are going to hand over a truckload of cash and hope that somehow the economy improves. It is about the intelligent design of policy—something which is utterly lost on the laziest opposition we have seen in the history of this parliament.

The SPEAKER: The last remarks were entirely out of order, and I call the Premier to order. The member for Davenport.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I hope Rik Morris can at least stop writing Mike Rann lines for the Premier, sir.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: If you go back to the Hansard, sir, that is exactly the same line Kevin Foley used to use, but I will keep on with my question, sir.

The SPEAKER: Well, if the member for Davenport doesn't want to ask a question, he may be seated.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: I shall be or may be?

The SPEAKER: No, I will call the member for Ashford.