Question Time

Unemployment Figures

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:14): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier explain to the house why there are 21,700 more unemployed in this state since he became the Premier?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:14): It is because the economy is in transition and we have employment—

Mr Williams interjecting:

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

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Employment continues to grow and has over each of the last five months and despite the increasing unemployment rate—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The deputy leader is warned.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —in the last month, largely due to an increase in the participation rate, we have actually seen five months of growth in the South Australian employment market.

Ms Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I call the member for Heysen to order.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: What people are witnessing is simultaneously the destruction of jobs through the decline of old industries and the creation of jobs through industries which are growing.

Mr Pederick interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I warn the member for Hammond.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The question really in front of the people of South Australia and, indeed, this parliament is not simply to talk up the size of the challenge but to commit ourselves collectively to meeting it. We have decided to do that through the establishment of an economic plan for the future of our state which has 10 priorities which we have been pursuing and we will—

Mr Pengilly interjecting:

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

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —diligently pursue, and when there are shocks or upsets or pieces of bad news, we will not be deflected from our course. We will just diligently work away at the execution of this plan, the next phase of which—

Mr Knoll interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I call the member for Schubert to order.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —of course, is the budget that will be revealed on Thursday. This will be the next phase in this important step. There are currently a range of threats to the economy in South Australia, the most—

Mr Pengilly interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Finniss is warned.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —important of which is the general slowdown in the Australian economy, but also specific South Australian threats which include the twin threats associated with a sustained high Australian dollar for a very extended period which had a particular effect on the manufacturing industry when it was sustained for such a long period of time. Unfortunately, we did not—

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I warn the member for Hartley.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I call the member for Unley to order.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —enjoy the benefits associated with that high Australian dollar.

Ms Sanderson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I call the member for Adelaide to order.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The clock should be restarted by about a minute.

The SPEAKER: Sorry?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The clock needs to be restarted by about a minute for these interruptions.

The SPEAKER: Yes, I will give the Premier some time-on as a result of the disorder.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The effect of the perfect storm associated with a high Australian dollar for a sustained period of time without—

Ms Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Heysen is warned.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I am curious about a question that is asked, sir, but then there is the immediate interjection without wanting to hear any of the answer throughout the course of it. It is clearly—

Mr Wingard interjecting:

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

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Those opposite simply do not understand the nature of the challenge and are not prepared to be part of the solution. The nature of the challenge is that we have a federal government that has turned its back on South Australia, that has slashed $500 million in funding to our car industry, that has created uncertainty in our defence sector, has created uncertainty in our renewable energy sector and has cut $5.5 billion out of our education and health budgets. All of that creates a depressing effect on the South Australian—

Mr PENGILLY: Point of order: I ask you whether the Premier is debating the question.

The SPEAKER: The interjections are coming so thick and fast that the Premier has plenty of opportunity to divert, if indeed he is diverting, from the substance of the question because of those interjections. If he were heard in silence then I could be stricter.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Frankly, it goes directly to the—

Ms REDMOND: Point of order: you allowed the Premier an extra minute; there is now five minutes gone, so that seems to add up to the extra minute already being gone.

The SPEAKER: I thank the member for Heysen; she offers the assistance of the people on the terraces in a soccer game. I am the timekeeper. Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: What we now know from all of those factors—from the international economy that is not giving South Australia any free kicks; from a federal government that has turned its back upon South Australia—is that we can no longer rely on either the world or, indeed, the nation around us to give us a free kick. We have to create our own destiny. We have shaped an economic plan for ourselves; we are reaching out to grow those jobs in the industries of the future. We are seeking to create the opportunities that we know are in front of us, and what would be advantageous for the people of South Australia—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is warned.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —for this parliament, is if we were joined by an opposition that was prepared to share in that task so that instead of simply complaining and whingeing and moaning, they shared with us a collective effort to pursue our economic plan for the future of South Australia.

The SPEAKER: Supplementary?