Mining Employment

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (14:55): My question is to the Premier. Why did the Premier claim on ABC radio on 11 August that his promise to create an additional 5,000 jobs in the mining sector would not be fulfilled because '…mining jobs was based on assumptions about commodity prices which obviously have had pretty catastrophic falls', when mining industry commodity prices had actually fallen consistently for the 24 months prior to making the promise?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:55): The point that I was seeking to make was that, at the end of this year, we'll be reviewing the Strategic Plan targets that we've set—the 10 economic priorities. We made a series of near-term targets, that is, where we expected or hoped to be by the end of this year and where we plan to be in three years' time just before the next state election. We did that, some would say, 'courageously', in the Yes Minister sense of the word, to hold ourselves accountable for the performance of this state.

These are not government targets: they are targets for the whole of the state. There are things here that we cannot directly influence as a state government. We don't export; we don't create jobs directly in the mining sector. What we do is try to facilitate the creation of jobs in that sector and what we will be doing, before the end of the year, is giving everybody in this house and the people of South Australia an account of how we're travelling on those 12-month targets and how we're travelling on the three-year targets. It may well be that we're going to have to adjust some of our three-year targets—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: As hilarious as that might sound, when the assumptions underpinning a target change, then it is sensible to review the target. Some will be reviewed downwards, such as the mining jobs target. Some will be reviewed upwards.

We have documented it carefully. The former treasurer, the Hon. Rob Lucas, gleefully, on television a few Friday nights ago, was talking about the unemployment rate and saying that we were destined to be at double digits. We have that material and we'll make sure we reflect back on that. This is the gleeful prediction that we will be reaching double digit unemployment.

Mr Bell: Can you rule it out?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: No, we can't. It's going to be a massive challenge to avoid it. It's going to be a massive challenge to do better than where we are at the moment, but that is the goal that we've set ourselves and what we will do is review each of those targets, because they're powerful targets—

Mr Marshall: Start with the 100,000 jobs!

The SPEAKER: The leader is on the edge.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —as a goad to action for the South Australian community as we seek to transform and adjust this economy from an old economy to a new economy where the jobs are growing.

One of the elements underpinning the target around 5,000 jobs is, of course, commodity prices. There are others but, fundamentally, commodity prices are a critical element of investment. One only needs to look at the oil price, the copper price, the iron ore price—all of those are putting downward pressure on investment and, therefore, jobs in the mining sector. It's natural that we should reflect upon those matters when we're considering our targets for the future.

But for once, could we have those opposite lending their arm to this important state effort to adjust the South Australian economy, rather than sitting back in their armchairs, just rocking back and repeating—

Mr GARDNER: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: Point of order.

Mr GARDNER: The Premier is now indulging in debate.

The SPEAKER: I uphold the point of order.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: A supplementary question, sir?

The SPEAKER: Before the supplementary question, I warn the member for Mount Gambier and I warn the member for Hammond for an earlier infraction. Member for Stuart.