Regional Employment

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (14:49): Supplementary, sir: will the minister now concede that the government's economic plan is failing to address increasing unemployment in regional South Australia?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:49): The government is embarking on an ambitious plan to lower the cost of doing business in South Australia supported by the member for Frome, which will indeed assist regional South Australia. I note that at the time the budget was announced, when the government announced its ambitious tax plans, members opposite derided us, saying these were the wrong taxes to cut. Now, six months later, they want us to accelerate the tax cuts that they think won't work. Quite frankly, the opposition is yet to put up an alternative plan for regional South Australia.

Ms Sanderson interjecting:

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

Mr PISONI: Point of order, sir. The minister is entering debate.

The SPEAKER: The question was, 'Has the government's economic policy failed?'

Mr Gardner: It was whether the Minister for Regional Development would admit that it had failed.

The SPEAKER: Thank you for that correction: that makes all the difference. Now the Treasurer is answering it and, surprise, surprise!—there's a tinge of debate to it.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I don't think so, sir. I think I'm just laying out the facts as I see them. At one stage, we're criticised for not doing enough on land tax and we should have focused on land tax and payroll tax. Then the opposition put out a package saying we should accelerate the tax cuts we announced which they said were the wrong ones.

They then say that we should spend more money on infrastructure, having previously said in the election campaign that spending money on infrastructure funded by the government is a false economy.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Point of order.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: I think you would have to admit this is more than a tinge of debate.

The SPEAKER: No, I don't have to admit it. If you ask a question such as, 'Has the government's policy failed?', you're not really asking for information, are you? You're going to be really surprised when the minister doesn't provide information since he hasn't been asked for it. Minister.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It's a bit rich to have an opposition that takes one set of policies to an election, dumps them, adopts ours and then says, 'Accelerate them,' and then has a straight enough face to say that to actually spend money on infrastructure after having told everyone it was false economy spending.

Ms Sanderson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I warn the member for Adelaide.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The opposition attempted to stop Adelaide Oval; they attempted to stop building the NRAH; they want to stop the O-Bahn, but now they're saying we should be investing in more infrastructure. Not only that, they took to the election a policy of abandoning the Torrens to Torrens South Road upgrade, yet they are now telling us to spend more money on infrastructure.

They're wrong on tax; they're wrong on infrastructure. What are they right about? Luckily for us, the current Leader of the Opposition says, don't worry, he's not going anywhere because there's no-one else good enough to replace him. That's the confidence he has in members opposite and quite frankly, the little interview going on today isn't going as planned.

Mr GARDNER: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: Point of order.

Mr GARDNER: This is the government that said they wouldn't sell the Repat in the life of a Labor government. This is clearly debate.

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta will leave under the standing order for a bogus point of order for 15 minutes.

The honourable member for Morialta having withdrawn from the chamber:

The SPEAKER: Treasurer.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: We are attempting to do more for our regions. In the most recent budget, the Minister for Transport successfully lobbied his cabinet colleagues for an increase of nearly 33 per cent in regional funding, up to a $110 million increase, taking the total budget to $330 million—a dramatic increase in funding for our roads.

We're the ones who have put sealing the Strzelecki Track on the map as an issue, not members opposite. We're the ones who are talking about a nuclear fuel cycle for South Australia. We're the ones talking about mining and we're not the ones attempting to stop unconventional gas exploration in this state: it is members opposite. So don't come in here and lecture us about the regions. Indeed, Mr Speaker—

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: It had better be better than the last one.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: This time I will ask you to agree that this is debate—standing order 98. It has been nothing else, sir.

The SPEAKER: It has been in the nature of debate because the question was in the nature of debate. If the opposition asks questions seeking information, rather than rhetorical questions, if the opposition seeks information and then a minister debates the answer, I will sit down or warn or chuck out under the sessional order the minister, but that wasn't the situation here. The minister was asked, 'Had the government's economic policy failed?' and the minister is answering it in the spirit in which it was asked. The minister.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I just say that everyone on this side of the house is dramatically impressed with the way the regional development grants are working in our regions. Every time I go into the regions and, indeed, every time I meet with a regional council or mayor, they are always talking about how well these grants are working because we are empowering regional communities. By abolishing taxes, by incentivising growth and by investing in our regions we are helping.

I would ask the opposition this: what would the unemployment rate be in Port Pirie had it not been for the Nyrstar redevelopment? Where would Port Pirie be now without the member for Frome and his intervention to make sure that that redevelopment occurred? Where would we be today? I will tell you where we would be: we would have the opposition talking about false economy spending or you can't subsidise industries, like we heard the federal Minister for Cities talking about today.

We believe in investing in the economy and we believe in investing in South Australia. We will help Nyrstar and we will help regional communities, we will invest in roads and infrastructure, we will cut taxes and we will back our resources industry. We won't simply just sit, carp and whine and not come up with an original idea of our own. If, after 14 years of opposition, this is the best you can serve up, you should all be ashamed of yourselves.

The SPEAKER: Supplementary, member for Hammond.