State Finances

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (14:54): My question is to the Treasurer. As the government has run deficits in net cash flows from operating activities last year and again this year, does the Treasurer believe the government is borrowing to pay wages?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:54): We have had the debate about deficits and we took to the election campaign a strategy. We make no apology for making borrowings. We made borrowings to build infrastructure, and that infrastructure is building capacity in our economy. We are building roads, we are building bridges and we are building hospitals. We are providing jobs for South Australians.

Indeed, we are doing what many lobby and industry groups are saying for us to do, and that is to keep on borrowing money to build productive infrastructure to get through the downturn. Unfortunately, we have a commonwealth government intent on attacking confidence, we have a commonwealth government intent on attacking families—

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Point of order, sir: relevance. The question was about whether the state government is borrowing money to pay wages, not about what the commonwealth government is doing.

The SPEAKER: I will listen carefully to what the Treasurer has to say but, obviously, the commonwealth budget has an impact on the state budget.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: A vast majority of our debt has been spent on capital works—capital works that the member for Davenport has enjoyed and members opposite have enjoyed, and that members opposite see as they drive to Parliament House. Indeed, the largest piece of infrastructure being built in the country as we speak, in the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, is building capacity for future generations. The government makes no apology for investing in infrastructure. It is who we are, it is in our DNA, and we stand by it.