State Economy

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (14:15): My question is for the Premier. Can the Premier update the house on how lower costs will support growth of the South Australian economy and also create more jobs?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:15): I tell you what, sir, this is turning—

The SPEAKER: Premier, one moment.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: This is turning into a very, very—

The SPEAKER: Premier, just one moment.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Sorry.

The SPEAKER: If members on my left are going to interject between the question and the answer, they are going to be leaving relatively soon. If that is your intention—

An honourable member: What would you prefer, sir?

The SPEAKER: I'm indifferent either way. The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Well, sir, can I just say that this is turning into—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —a very enjoyable question time for the government, because every day that we are in here talking about the economy, we are talking about making South Australia stronger. Talking about the economy is the bread and butter of a Liberal government here in South Australia, anywhere in the country.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: That's what we're here for: to create more opportunities. I thank the member for Morphett for his question and I congratulate him on his first 18 months in this chamber, in this parliament. He's doing a great job representing the people of Morphett. He, like every other person on this side of the chamber, is vitally concerned about making sure that we lower costs in South Australia. We were elected—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We were elected because we had a real plan—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —for genuine change here in South Australia: to create more jobs, to lower costs in South Australia. That's precisely what we promised and that's precisely what we have delivered. Already this week, we have announced a brand-new regime for land tax in South Australia: a $70 million cut to land tax in South Australia, providing much-needed relief for businesses, investors and individuals in this state. Under those opposite, they presided over the highest marginal land tax rate in the nation. It was a massive disincentive to invest in South Australia. It was a massive disincentive for jobs—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan: We cut it for families instead.

The SPEAKER: Member for Lee!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —in South Australia. We've done three things. We've moved forth with three key reforms: one is the aggregation of properties in line with what's happening in other jurisdictions like Victoria, like New South Wales and like Western Australia. In addition to that important reform, we have also been able to significantly increase the threshold from $391,000 to $450,000, thus taking 9,000 people in our state away from paying land tax moving forward. That's great news for people who hitherto had that burden of land tax on them every single year under those opposite.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We've lifted it from $391,000 to $450,000 at the same time as bringing that top marginal rate down. Of course, this has been a major disincentive—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —to people investing in our state—

Ms Stinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Badcoe!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —and the South Australian economy. For too long, people who have been looking at South Australia have said, 'Do you know what? The land tax rate there is too high.' In fact, in many cases, the annual land tax rate was over half the yield that they were getting on properties in South Australia so they bypassed South Australia, thus supressing capital values in our state.

Moreover, South Australians were not spending money investing in South Australia; they were continuing to invest in other jurisdictions with more attractive land tax rates. This is a reform that has been needed for a long period of time. Those opposite want to sweep these difficult reforms under the mat. We've exposed them. We have the ticker for this type of reform. We don't cower, we don't go weak at the knees at the very first sign—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Lee is warned, as is the member for Playford.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —of any groups that want to make adverse comments, because reform—genuine reform—requires a backbone. That is something that is completely and utterly missing from those opposite. At the moment, we have a weak—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —Leader of the Opposition, who is not up to any reform whatsoever. He is going to have a forum after sitting in cabinet for all those years, presiding over the highest land tax regime in the country. We have decided to push ahead with reform. We care about growth and we care about jobs for the future.

The SPEAKER: The Premier's time has expired.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for West Torrens, it would pain me to eject you again, for a second day—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: It would. I really don't want to, but if I have to, I will.