Federal Budget

Mr GEE (Napier) (14:50): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier inform the house of the findings of a recent report into the effect of the federal government budget on South Australians and the implications for efforts to transform our economy?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:51): I thank the honourable member for this question, and it's proper that he asks this question, because the suburbs associated with his electorate are most severely hit by the federal budget cuts. When the federal government handed down its budget in May this year it was immediately apparent that it contained many cuts that were unfair. We had warned, of course, that there would be cuts, but even we were surprised about the depth and the severity and the unfairness of these federal cuts.

Just how unfair the federal budget is and who bears the heaviest burden has been made clearer in a report prepared by the Australian Workplace Innovation and Social Research Centre in partnership with the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM). The report finds that nearly one-third of all South Australian families will be worse off as a direct result of the federal budget and, shamefully, the lowest income families will be hit hardest. From 2017-18, couples with children will lose $2,780 per year and single parent families up to $3,700 per year.

Mr TARZIA: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: Point of order, member for Hartley.

Mr TARZIA: This information is on a publicly available news release dated 8 October 2014.

The SPEAKER: Rather than, as you did on the last occasion, hold up a screen from where you sit, could the member for Hartley bring the information to me so I may check the Premier's answer against delivery?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Mr Speaker, the question travels much further than the cuts: it's the effect on our capacity to transform our economy. It's important to lay the foundation of fact. I can understand why those opposite are embarrassed and, sadly, their silence reflects their support of the federal budget. The federal cuts will hurt where communities are already vulnerable, including the very northern suburbs that were so hard hit by the announcement of the Holden closure and, in particular, regional communities. The broader economic impact of the cuts is also alarming. Of concern is the finding that cuts will mean 7,000 fewer jobs can be created that will be—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Point of order.

Ms CHAPMAN: The Premier has actually sent a personal letter to all of the members and, indeed, even further widespread, with a nice little graph and all the information that he—

The SPEAKER: Yes, I received it today.

Ms CHAPMAN: Yes, I'm sure you would have; so it is entirely within the realm that we all have a personalised letter from the Premier and we don't need a ministerial statement.

The SPEAKER: If the member for Bragg gives me the letter I will check it against the Premier–

Mr Marshall: You said, 'I got one,' sir, and now you want another copy.

The SPEAKER: Yes, in the words of John Cleese, 'I already got one', but, in fact, it's at my Croydon electorate office.

Ms CHAPMAN: Mr Speaker, are you suggesting to the house that you haven't read it?

The SPEAKER: I was in rather a hurry to get here today.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Mr Speaker, I even crossed out 'Ms Chapman' and wrote 'Vickie', and I am prepared to autograph Mr Spoehr's report from the South Australian government, hand autograph this.

Can I say that it is not just the deep cuts; it is the fact that they do not help us one jot with the transformation exercise that is necessary for the South Australian economy. If they could have at least made the case that somehow all this unfairness and this burden was actually for some higher purpose, one may have been persuaded—probably not, but nevertheless you would have thought they might have at least sought to advance an argument about why this is good for us, but there has not been any of that.

At a time when we need to maintain growth and momentum in a transforming economy, we get deep cuts which will reduce activity. There is a reason why national surveys demonstrate that there is less poverty here in South Australia than around the nation: it is because we are building and those other states are cutting.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We are building and they are cutting, and that is what people supported when they made the choice at the last election. The federal budget should be assisting us as we grapple with the loss of 13,000 jobs at Holden's; instead, it places an additional burden, with the loss of a further 7,000 jobs. We have to change direction. We have to stop these federal cuts that are hurting South Australians.

The SPEAKER: Oh, no, a supplementary! The member for MacKillop.

Mr Williams: Sorry, Steven.

The SPEAKER: Are you addressing me or the leader?