Public Transport

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:33): Supplementary, sir. Does the government agree with the KPMG report which indicates that the government's proposed car park tax will reduce state economic activity by $12 million per year?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:34): No, sir.

Mr Knoll interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert is called to order. Treasurer.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Sir, it didn't have those impacts, I am advised, in every other state—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: And personal insults are beneath you, Vickie: you can do better than that. If the Leader of the Opposition's guiding lights are independent accounting agencies' reports, perhaps he can look at the Pitcher Partners report when he talks about South Australia having the highest taxes in the country because they say the opposite. Also, KPMG says we have a very low cost of doing business in this state. He ignores those, but he is happy to cherrypick the ones that suit his argument.

The reality is that the Leader of the Opposition has dragged everyone over there into opposition because he follows the advice of property developers and not his own members. He knows that the TDL is good policy, and it is good policy because it invests in public transport. It decongests our city. It encourages city workers to catch public transport to the city, leaving more car parks available for shoppers and investors who are coming into the CBD. But the Leader of the Opposition can't see past his friends in the Property Council, can't see past big business, to support families who want to work and live in the CBD.