Goods and Services Tax

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:41): A supplementary, sir, to the Treasurer. When the Treasurer said in the house on 2 July 2015, 'The only people who are advocating changes to the GST are our political opponents, not us,' had the Premier raised with him the prospects of broadening the GST?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:42): The Premier and I, and indeed his entire cabinet, are at one with him. I know it is a unique concept for members opposite, the concept of unity and solidarity, but I think it is fair to say that we are exceptionally proud of the work our Premier is doing on the national stage—punching above our weight, arguing for the reforms that our federation needs. I think the AustralianFinancial Review put it best today:

A familiar quip when landing in Adelaide from the eastern states may become a thing of the past. 'Ladies and gentlemen, wind your watches back 30 minutes,' say the flight attendants to the response of '…and your mind back 20 years,' from the passengers. Jay Weatherill has favoured moving South Australian time to Eastern States Time as he pushes forward on another front left vacant for many years. With a royal commission—

Mr PISONI: Point of order, Mr Speaker: the minister is digressing from the substance of the question—time zones. Really, sir?

The SPEAKER: Yes, on the face of it, the member for Unley would appear to be correct. I am waiting for the Treasurer to join up his remarks to be germane to the question.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, sir. The article continues:

With a royal commission destined to favour embracing the nuclear industry and Adelaide seeking to be the testing bed for driverless cars, Weatherill has not been quiet on the decision-making front. It does, however, make you wonder about the state Liberals; perhaps singularly the most unsuccessful Liberal or Labor party around the country over the past 40 years?

Mr GARDNER: Point of order, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Is the point of order that this is debate?

Mr GARDNER: Yes, sir.

The SPEAKER: I uphold the point of order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Getting to the GST, the article says:

It has said no to privatisation, no to the closure of obsolete hospitals—

Mr PISONI: Point of order, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: I will anticipate the member for Unley's point of order and ask the Treasurer to move on from the subject of the parliamentary Liberal Party and address the question.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, sir. The party, the cabinet, the caucus are at one with the Premier, and we are at one with the Premier because Mike Baird has dared to raise difficult questions. The Premier did the right thing, he did the right thing. What he did was he wouldn't allow another state Premier who raised very difficult questions about a difficult situation. There are real cuts being made to health and education by the commonwealth. How do we deal with these cuts? How do we structure our finances to deal with the needs that South Australians and those living across the federation require to fund an effective hospital and education system?

The truth is this: our Premier is prepared to tackle difficult questions and we support him in that endeavour. The only person not consulted—the most successful Liberal leader in the country, the only person Mike Baird did not consult was the most unsuccessful Liberal leader in the country, the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr GARDNER: Point of order: the Treasurer is defying your ruling and there are steps you are allowed to take under standing orders.

The SPEAKER: I agree, the Treasurer is defying my ruling, so I warn him for the second and final time, as I also do the members for Stuart and Mount Gambier. Member for Chaffey.