Government Performance

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (14:46): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the house about the progress the government has made to deliver on the 2014 election commitments?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:47): Indeed, it is a happy day today. It is, in fact, 12 months to the day since we were sworn in as the new government.

An honourable member: Great day.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: That's right. Cheers to us. Can I say that since that period of time we have—just as we did during the election campaign—decided to put all of our commitments in full view of the public. We thought we would take a novel approach during the election campaign. We thought, 'The hell with it, we will actually publish all of our policies on the first day of the campaign,' which stood in stark contrast to those opposite.

I announce that one year to the day since we were sworn in we can now provide details of the progress we have made, and we have done this by publishing in full view 44 pages worth of detail online, so you can go to that if you would like to. Those commitments are not just the ones we made during the election campaign but indeed the 14 policy documents that were launched in the six months leading up to the election campaign, including the commitments that were negotiated with minister Brock, so they are all there and we have set them out.

The SPEAKER: Premier, you shouldn’t refer to the minister's surname.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Sorry; the member for Frome. Of the 367 commitments for the four-year term of government, 103 are completed already, including: the delivery of a new return-to-work scheme, saving South Australian business $180 million per annum; the establishment of 19 marine parks; the securing of the redevelopment of the Nyrstar smelter at Port Pirie; supporting auto workers through the automotive diversification program; holding three country cabinets, with a fourth happening this Monday in Peterborough; increasing the maximum energy concession by $50 for vulnerable people; increasing the Regional Development Fund to $15 million per annum; increasing investment in new advanced medical equipment in metropolitan and country hospitals; establishing a major event bid fund; and ensuring that we provide additional resources into our health and education systems.

Delivering on these commitments has been a task that has to occur in a difficult financial environment and a difficult political environment, given the obstruction that we have seen by the other place of our transport development levy that has meant that funding for some of the infrastructure upgrades has had to be put on hold unfortunately. But we have pressed ahead.

As part of the commitment we have made to regional South Australia, through the Minister for Regional Development, we have also funded the James Morrison jazz school in Mount Gambier, a fantastic new initiative at that level. I made it a commitment at the last election that I would govern for all South Australians, that I would stand up to the Abbott government and that we would keep on building South Australia, and on each of those commitments we have delivered.

We have stood up against the Abbott government on cuts to health, on cuts to education, we have stood up for pensioners and we will continue to fight for jobs at the Australian Submarine Corporation and hold this commonwealth government to account. We made commitments, we are delivering on those commitments and we intend to continue to keep building South Australia.