Ramsay Electorate

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (15:19): I rise today as the member for the Ramsay electorate, spanning the suburbs of Salisbury, Salisbury Downs, Salisbury North, Salisbury Plain and Paralowie. I have been very honoured to represent this area since 2012 and, while there is much to celebrate in this great community, there are also challenges that face my constituents.

A key concern that is regularly raised is the rising cost of living. The budget that was presented just a month ago is no exception. The Marshall Liberal government is hitting South Australians in the hip pocket, with massive tax hikes way above the inflation rate. They were promised lower costs, and now that promise is broken. These tax grabs are particularly painful for those in our community who are struggling with unemployment or surviving on low incomes.

Almost 30 per cent of the households in Ramsay live on less than $650 per week before tax. The reason I am raising these figures is that I want this government to understand that their tax increases hit the Ramsay electorate hard. Every time they drive their car, catch public transport, go to hospital or even put out their wheelie bin, the government is taxing them more and more money. Every time costs rise for the people of Ramsay, they have to make choices—choices that members of this government just cannot comprehend.

The sacrifice is not turning down another investment property or not having an overseas trip; it means not having the occasional day out with the family, such as going to Cleland Wildlife Park, which, as we know, also had a 25 per cent hike in entry fees. The budget is narrow minded and does not support the people in my electorate. We have heard conflicting messages from this government: they are promising lower costs, yet that is not what is being delivered, and it is not what is being seen by the constituents of Ramsay.

Driving a car is more expensive, with hikes to motor registration (up 5 per cent) and driver's licence renewals (up 4½ per cent). The conflicting messages continue with these huge increases. It seems that they want fewer cars on our roads; however, they are making it harder for people to catch public transport. They are cutting bus routes, privatising our network and yet again increasing fees. Catching public transport is more expensive, with hikes to fares up 2 per cent and the axing of the two-section card costing some commuters $849 more a year. Gone are free Metrocards: they now cost $5 each.

The real kicker of this budget came in the final hour. The Ramsay electorate is situated in the City of Salisbury council area. The council had been preparing their 2019-20 budget for several months, working hard to keep all existing services, reduce debt and introduce new projects to help the community. They sent their draft annual budget out for public consultation based on a 2½ per cent average increase. These plans have hit an unfortunate hurdle, as it was announced in the state budget that councils and ratepayers will be hit with a significant and surprising increase to the solid waste levy.

While they were out consulting with the people of the City of Salisbury, there was this surprise. On 1 July, the levy rose from $100 to $110 a tonne in metropolitan areas and is set to rise to $140 on 1 January 2020. This is a whopping 40 per cent increase. The result is a $770,000 increase in costs for the City of Salisbury. That will mean more than $5 million over the next four years. That was announced less than a week prior to the council approving their budget. They had no choice but to adopt an increase of 2.9 per cent, absorbing half that levy increase and imposing the other half on ratepayers.

You keep punishing the people. You promise lower costs but every which way it goes—public transport, council rates—you are punishing the people of South Australia.