House of Assembly Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Land Tax Forum Land Tax Forum Mr MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Leader of the Opposition Land Tax Forum Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:14): My question is to the Minister for Child Protection. What was the feedback the minister got from her land tax forum last Friday? The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Premier. Mr Brown House of Assembly Mr Brown: Maybe he could tell us. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Playford is warned for a second and final time. The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly Dunstan Premier The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:14): The member for Adelaide speaks to me regularly on this topic, as do all the members on this side of the house, and it's fair to say— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —some people are strongly in support of what we are doing and there are others who raised legitimate concerns. This is always the case— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Wright is warned. The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —when there is a significant reform which is being pursued by government. The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is warned. The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —and that's what we are doing. We are pursuing the largest reform of land tax in this state's history. We make no apology— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —for putting the people of South Australia first. We make no apology that 92 per cent of people—individuals in South Australia—will be paying less under what we are putting forward. Mr Malinauskas interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order, leader! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: This is a very important reform, which is going to create a fairer situation in South Australia with lower land tax— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —and of course, most importantly, make us more competitive on a national basis. As you would be well aware, sir, the regime that was presided over by those opposite led to a situation which many people have given us feedback on. They have said it was completely unsatisfactory to have a top marginal land tax rate— The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —of 3.7 per cent. We got a lot of feedback from people—before the election, subsequent to the election and subsequent to the announcement that we have made regarding our land tax position—that 3.7 per cent drove investment out of our state and repelled investment coming into our state. That's completely unacceptable. Mr Brown House of Assembly Mr Brown: They all wanted aggregation, too. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Playford can leave for 20 minutes under 137A. The honourable member for Playford having withdrawn from the chamber: The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Our focus is all about improving the South Australian economy, and we will work every single day that we are on the treasury bench to advance our economy, continue to grow our economy, create jobs and keep our young people in South Australia, and that is the feedback that we have been receiving.