House of Assembly Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Unemployment Figures Unemployment Figures Dr HARVEY House of Assembly Newland Unemployment Figures Dr HARVEY (Newland) (14:26): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier update the house on the unemployment figures released last week and what action the government is taking to drive economic activity and create jobs? The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly Dunstan Premier Unemployment Figures The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:27): It is with great pleasure that I rise today to update the house on the recently announced employment figures for Australia. I was absolutely delighted to read that our seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in South Australia is now at an almost six-year low of 5.4 per cent. This is down 0.2 per cent on the May result and South Australia is certainly trending in the right direction. This comes on top of a range of new metrics that have been reported in recent weeks that show that business confidence and consumer confidence in this state continue to rise since the election, which was held in March of this year. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Again, sir, isn't this typical? Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The Premier will be heard in silence. The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: They hate good news. They don't want anybody employed in South Australia. They want the line of unemployment going out this door, around the corner and right down North Terrace, but we don't agree with them. We do not agree with them. We would like to see every single person in South Australia with fulfilling employment in this state, and that is our goal. We are going to be working hard every single day that we are in office to put in place the conditions so that all people in this state can have a fulfilling life and a career here in this state. We are sick to death of the negativity of those opposite every time there is any good news in South Australia. They had 16 years. They had 16 years and let me tell you what they left us with: an exodus of young people out of this state. They finished school, they finished university, but they didn't see their future here in South Australia. What an absolute disaster that those opposite presided over for more than 16 years. Let me tell you, the new government is in place and we are going to be doing everything that we can. The good news is that we have hit the ground running. As I mentioned earlier, we have already restored $90 million of emergency services levy remission that those opposite ripped out from beneath taxpayers in South Australia. There is more good news. I know that the Minister for Industry and Skills can hardly keep the smile off his face, which is a little bit disconcerting in itself. He's smiling because he's doing everything he can to create 20,000 new apprenticeships and traineeships in South Australia over the next four years. This is good news. Get your pompoms out—this is exciting news for the people of South Australia. You had 16 years, and what do we see in South Australia in terms of the number of apprentices and trainees? It was going down the gurgler because those opposite were not prioritising the next generation. We're going to be doing everything that we possibly can. From 1 January next year, sir, you will note that we will be abolishing payroll tax for all small business in this state, and the reason why we're doing this is that we want to create more jobs. Let me tell you what those opposite said before the election: 'Oh, no, no. Lowering payroll tax will just put more money in the pockets of those nasty employers.' They referred to the people who were putting their wealth, their resources, on the line as the 'employer class', as if there were some differentiation, some class warfare. Well, class warfare is over. We want every South Australian to do well. We are not governing just for the few, just for your Labor mates, just for your union hacks: we are governing for all. We want to see the entire state do well. We want to lower costs here in South Australia. We want to create more jobs and better services for each and every South Australian.