Federal Budget

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop) (14:56): Mr Speaker, my supplementary question to the Premier is: what impact does any report that he might have from any so-called expert have on South Australian families—the fact that, as has been revealed in the Auditor-General's Report that has just been tabled, the budget deficit in the last financial year was predicted to be $911 million and it has actually come in at $1.23 billion, some $321 million gone out the window?

The SPEAKER: That is not a supplementary, but the Premier seems keen to answer it.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:57): This is the point: we have been building and you wanted to cut. We dodged a bullet at the last state election. Imagine the depressive effect on the South Australian economy if we had the reinforcing effect of the Abbott cuts and the Marshall cuts—imagine where we would be now!

We made a conscious decision in South Australia to not chase down revenue. We made a conscious decision to put our AAA credit rating on the line because we knew that introducing such a negative impulse into the economy at that critical point would be damaging for us. Just at a time when we need to be encouraging companies to change and grow, if they saw a shrinking state economy the chances of us achieving that would even be more difficult. We made that decision. I stand by that budget strategy, and we will be vindicated.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I call to order the members for Unley, Hammond, Morialta and Adelaide. I warn the member for MacKillop a first and second time. I warn the leader a first time. I warn the member for Heysen a first time. I call the member for Schubert to order and warn him a first time, and I call the member for Hartley to order and warn him a first and a second time. The leader.