Vocational Education and Training

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:15): Does the Premier consider the investment in Skills for All to be a failure, given that in 2009 the unemployment rate in South Australia was 5.5 per cent and has now increased in April 2015 to 7.1 per cent?

The SPEAKER: Well, when one seeks an opinion rather than information, it does give the minister a lot of scope. Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:15): It does. You hear a question like that and you wonder whether it is actually asked with any degree of seriousness or not, because manifestly there was a lot more happening in the world than just the existence or otherwise of Skills for All. Obviously, there is not a direct correlation between training people and actually the creation of jobs. Of course, it's self-evident—

Mr Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is called to order.

Mr Pederick: No correlation to your 100,000 jobs target?

The SPEAKER: The member for Hammond is called to order.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It's self-evident that if you give people additional skills, then that is a benefit for them. It increases their human capital; it gives them the capacity to go out and actually seek employment. It reduces shortages in the economy, which is all good for the rate at which businesses can employ people without having to delay or have periods where they're not staffed at an optimal level because they actually have the skills that are necessary for them to promote their businesses. But, of course, we can't account for all of the effects that have occurred in the international economy that have washed over the South Australian economy. At the time when these commitments—

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hartley is warned.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: At the time when these commitments were made, we were gearing up for the Olympic Dam expansion. There was no hint on the horizon of the disappearance of the car industry, and we could not have anticipated this extraordinary—

Mr Wingard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Mitchell is called to order.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —and sustained period of the high Australian dollar, which was having a particular effect on the largest single industry by value in the South Australian economy: the manufacturing industry. All of these factors had a dramatic effect on employment, and of course the way in which this government sought to respond to it was to step up and take the lead in the transformation of the South Australian economy. You might have remembered that, since we made this commitment, we have actually had an election where we tested our view of the world and the opposition's view of the world, and I am afraid—

Mr Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is warned.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —you're still sitting over there. Those opposite are still sitting over there because they could not put a persuasive case for change to the people of South Australia. We said—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for MacKillop is called to order and so is the Treasurer.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We told the people of South Australia that we would stand up for South Australia. We told them that we would take a lead in transforming and modernising the economy. We said that we would keep on building South Australia and we said that we would make sure that every single South Australian would come on this journey with us, and the truth is that that was a more persuasive vision for the future of South Australia than the—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for MacKillop is warned.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —simple cuts that were proposed by those opposite. To be questioned by a party whose principal platform was cutting about us making sensible economies in a generous program is a bit galling.

Mr GARDNER: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: Yes, point of order, member for—

Mr GARDNER: Even given the scope of the question, this is certainly debate.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: You wonder why—

The SPEAKER: Premier, I had better rule on the point of order. The Leader of the Opposition asked for the Premier's opinion. He is getting it. The Premier—finished?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: No, I am happy to supply a little more of my opinion. There is something that sits at the heart of this, and that is that the South Australian economy—the gravamen of this question was about unemployment rates and the challenges that confront the South Australian economy. It does not advance the cause of actually answering those questions to simply continue to repeat the nature of the challenge. Of course there is unemployment, of course people in South Australia are looking for an economic future.

Mr Marshall: How is this going to help?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We have doubled our—

Mr Marshall: That's the question. How is slashing the number of training places going to help with unemployment?

The SPEAKER: The leader is called to order.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We are sensibly managing the state's finances, and we are taking a lead in transforming and modernising the economy.

Mr Marshall: What a load of rubbish!

The SPEAKER: The leader is warned.