Federal Budget

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:26): My question is to the Treasurer. Given the extra $977 million in funding the state government is set to receive under last night's federal budget, will the Treasurer commit to reinstating the emergency services levy remission paid to South Australian households and keep the Repatriation General Hospital open, both of which could be afforded with a 977 windfall gain from last night's federal budget?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:26): Mr Speaker, first and foremost, I dispute the $900 million figure.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader is warned for the second and final time. I would be most reluctant to suspend a Leader of the Opposition under sessional orders, particularly on the day after the federal budget. I now ask him to comply with standing orders. Treasurer.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Sir, on the very next page, alongside the numbers the member for Dunstan, the Leader of the Opposition, is quoting is a proviso of the commonwealth government to say that state governments' relativities can change depending on own source revenue fluctuations, and our Treasury makes the same assessments on what we think we will receive. Our figure is about 600 million; but, let's take for the sake of the argument that the Leader of the Opposition on a rare occasion is right—he's not, but let's say he is. The truth is that it doesn't touch the sides of the cuts made by the commonwealth. This year alone—

Mr Marshall: Just answer the question.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I am answering the question. This year alone the cuts are $160 million—$160 million. Returning $90 million in remissions to the ESL makes our task harder. Yelling out 'get a briefing' means you don't understand the problem of the task before us. Your colleagues in Canberra are assaulting our hospitals, they're assaulting our schools, they're assaulting our pensioners. We have increased our concessions to pensioners by up to $50 a year. Some pensioners are receiving up to $250 in pensioner concessions from the South Australian government. We have increased our commitment to South Australian pensioners. Those who have cut their commitments are the commonwealth. To get up here and say, 'Oh, look, just because you've got some extra money in the GST—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Again, Mr Speaker, on the very page, on the other side of the page that the Leader of the Opposition sources his information from, are provisos the commonwealth put in themselves, talking about the state government's own source revenues and own source relativities. They change every year. As I said this morning, we can only really take as gospel the first year. The other years are an estimate. We factor in our own assessments, and it's around $600 million. That is good, Mr Speaker.

I am glad that our GST receipts are increasing, but they don't make up the cuts made by the commonwealth; they simply do not touch the sides. I wish they did. I wish they did, and if they reverse those cuts we would be returning the remissions to the ESL; but they haven't reversed those cuts, and increasing GST receipts does not make up the difference. It simply doesn't add up. No matter how many times we tell the Leader of the Opposition this, he just thinks it is a magic pudding; he just says, 'Well, we'll just make it up.' In a by-election the Leader of the Opposition promised nearly half a billion dollars' worth of promises to win a safe Liberal seat. He cannot be believed on these issues. He cannot be believed.

Mr GARDNER: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Yes.

Mr GARDNER: I think we are well into debate now.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I uphold the point of order. In the pause created, I call to order the member for Goyder, and I warn for the second and final time the member for Hammond, who had warnings hanging over from before lunch, and the member for Schubert. Deputy leader.