Question Time

Employment Figures

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:09): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier explain why jobs growth has stalled under his government and is currently in negative territory this financial year?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:09): I thank the honourable member for his question. The fact of the matter is we are doing everything we possibly can to grow our economy in South Australia. We were left a complete and utter mess by those opposite—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —when we came to government. Sir, you might have seen the statistics that were published last week—

The SPEAKER: Yes.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —that showed the growth of the South Australian economy as measured by state final demand.

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan: It's slowing down.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: That state final demand has increased very considerably in the December quarter. The member for Lee, of course, is interjecting saying that it has slowed down. I don't know whether anybody is giving him a briefing anymore.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: They are so excited in his office about the recent poll that was covered in the Sunday Mail. That's all they are talking about in the office for Lee. They were looking at that poll on the weekend with the opposition leader down at 26 per cent. That's all they are concerned about in the office of the member for Lee.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: Is the Premier finished?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: No.

The SPEAKER: You weren't finished. I will take the point of order from the father of the house.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The Premier is overachieving in debate, sir.

Mr Pederick: You're an underachiever.

The SPEAKER: The member for Hammond is called to order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I haven't got to the Premier. The question was about alleged stalling in jobs growth from this financial year. I have allowed the Premier some time to roll his arm over. I expect him to come back to the substance of the question.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I was providing some information to the house about the very significant—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —economic growth occurring in South Australia at the moment. We look at the December quarter figures for state final demand, and South Australia grew by 0.8 per cent in that quarter. That was much more than those opposite achieved in some full years. Sometimes in two years—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —they didn't get 0.8 per cent economic growth. We did that in the December quarter alone, a three-month period when the South Australian economy actually grew at four times the rate of the Australian economy. Those opposite, of course, want to complain.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: They want to complain, they want to whinge, they want to carp, they want to complain. The reality is that they had their time on the treasury bench, and they failed the people of South Australia. That is exactly and precisely why—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I would like to hear the answer.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —they were chucked out of office at the most recent election. We are doing what we can to stimulate economic growth in this state. There are some nice green shoots starting to emerge, but there is much, much more work to be done. On 1 January this year—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —we embarked upon a very significant reform, taking the axe to payroll tax in South Australia, a tax on jobs here in South Australia. What we did was make a new arrangement so that any business with a payroll of up to $1½ million will no longer pay a cent in payroll tax. The threshold under those opposite was down at $600,000. That's when they started paying tax when the Labor government was in office. We do this because we want to stimulate economic growth. We do this because we want to create more jobs for South Australians and keep them here in this state.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: The reality is that there is a huge amount of work to do but, every single day that we are in office, that is exactly and precisely what we are going to be focused on: the people of South Australia.

The SPEAKER: Before I come back to the Leader of the Opposition, I call the following members to order for interjections: the members for Ramsay, Badcoe and Lee, the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Playford, the member for Hurtle Vale, the member for Waite and the Minister for Industry and Skills. The Leader of the Opposition has the call.