Cost of Living

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (14:19): My question is for the Premier. Will the Premier update the house on how government measures to reduce the cost of living, such as reducing the emergency services levy, will have a broader impact on the South Australian economy?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:19): I thank the member for Colton. He cares about the future of South Australia and is asking important questions that are of relevance to the people of South Australia.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: The cost of living is a very, very important—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader is called to order. Please don't respond to interjections.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: The leader, of course, wants to talk about child protection. I find this incredible. I find this incredible. Those opposite should hang their heads in shame over the woeful way they addressed this very important issue over a long period of time.

Mr KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order: relevance, sir. This has nothing to do with the question he was asked.

The SPEAKER: I will listen carefully.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Thank you, sir. If those opposite could sit quietly—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Premier will be seated. It is highly out of order to interject and also to respond to interjections. Please, members, address your remarks through the Chair. Premier, please return to the substance of the question. Thank you.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: The substance of the question, as you would be well aware, sir, is the impact that the new government is having on the economy here in South Australia. Can I say that the policy settings that the new government is putting in place will grow the South Australian economy. It will create new jobs and it will keep young people here in South Australia.

Earlier today, of course, we fulfilled the commitment we made to the people of South Australia regarding the $90 million relief that we provided on the emergency services levy, which will come into effect on the bills that are received after 1 July this year. But we are not content to stop there, sir. As you would also be aware, when our budget comes down in September we will be providing relief to every single small business in South Australia. In fact, every business in South Australia with a payroll below $1.5 million per year will not pay a cent—will not pay a cent—of payroll tax. We take these decisions and we put these measures into place because we want to grow our economy.

One of the other things that we are considering through this parliament in the coming weeks is the deregulation of shop trading hours. We do this as well because we want to create more jobs in South Australia. We want more South Australians employed. Those opposite want to live under some sort of crazy regime from decades and decades ago and make sure that our young people don't have a future in South Australia. We, by contrast, want to make sure that we provide every single opportunity for the next generation to stay here in South Australia and have employment and fulfilling careers. That's one of the reasons why we are focused on growing the size of exports out of South Australia.

Those opposite were content to sit on their hands and see our exports to very key trading partners like China diminish year after year. We will not be complacent. In fact, I have already made a trip to China, as I outlined to the house yesterday—and encouraging signs. But we won't stop with looking at the Chinese market. We will look at markets right around the world because we want to give our exporters every opportunity to sell their goods and services to a range of jurisdictions so that we can bring money into South Australia, grow our economy and grow jobs.

We are also looking at creating new start-ups in South Australia. I have spoken at length before about the work that we are doing with the adaptive re-use of the heritage buildings on the Royal Adelaide Hospital site. This is a great opportunity to put business start-ups at the heart of new jobs here in South Australia. Another issue that we will be supporting on this side of the house of course is the federal government's push to lower corporate tax rates in Australia. We think this is a good measure.

We know we've got to be competitive on the international stage. We see other jurisdictions around the world focused on growing the size of their economy. They are putting measures in place to lower the taxes they put onto the corporate sector. We support that on this side of the house. It's time for us to all work collectively to lowering taxes, removing regulation, building productive infrastructure and supporting the productive private sector of our economy to grow jobs here in our state.