Question Time

Land Tax

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:03): My question is to the Premier. If the Treasurer can admit that landowners are worse off under the latest land tax changes, why can't the Premier?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:03): I always enjoy the opportunity to talk about reform. I always enjoy the opportunity to talk about reform—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The leader is called to order.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —in South Australia, something that those opposite were—

Mr Szakacs interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Cheltenham is warned.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —unable to pursue for a long period of time when it came to West Torrens. Of course, there was a half-hearted effort going back about a decade ago. It was ineffective. The only time they ever looked at land tax subsequent to that was when they—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan: It was saving people money.

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

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —threatened the people of South Australia with putting land tax on every single piece of land, including residential properties in South Australia.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir: this is clearly debate. The question was very specific.

The SPEAKER: I have the point of order. Member for West Torrens, sit down. Premier, be quiet. The Minister for Education.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Sir, on the point of order, the question included the term 'why can't'. When a member asks a philosophical question, they will get a philosophical answer.

The SPEAKER: I'm going to allow—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: No, I have taken it to be a point of order on your point of order, member for West Torrens, so I am going to listen very carefully to the Premier's response. I ask that the gesticulation and the commentary and the interjections on my left and on my right cease so that I can listen to the Premier. The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: They can't take it. When they ask a question about land tax and we start responding, talking about the importance—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I'm trying to listen.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —of reform in terms of land tax, they start whingeing, whining, carping, complaining and interrupting the flow of the parliament. The simple fact of the matter is that we on this side of the house are embarking upon—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —the single largest land tax reform in the history of South Australia—a massive cut. They wouldn't know a tax cut if they fell over it. They wouldn't have a clue. They have never been near one.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: They have never been near one. They want to grind the South Australian economy into the dirt. By contrast—

Mr Malinauskas: Who do you believe? Your Treasurer or your Premier?

The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, be quiet.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —every day that we have been in this place we have been trying to improve the conditions that we inherited from those opposite by lowering the costs of doing business—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is on two warnings.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —in South Australia, building confidence, building skills and creating the right environment for businesses, the private sector, to employ more South Australians. And that is exactly what is happening. Captain Negative hates it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Elizabeth!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: But the reality is that in the last six months 5,000 jobs—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —have been created in South Australia, 5,000 jobs in the last six months. It's more than double what they were achieving under the previous regime and they hate it.

Mr Malinauskas: 7.3 per cent.

The SPEAKER: The leader is warned.

Mr Odenwalder interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Elizabeth can leave for 20 minutes under 137A.

The honourable member for Elizabeth having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Fundamental to reform and moving the state in the right direction is dealing with some tough issues. We don't move away from tough issues. Some just sweep those problems under the carpet or kick the can down the road. They have been doing it for a long period of time.

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Industry is called to order.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Where did South Australia arrive? At 3.7 per cent. It's the top marginal rate for land tax, the highest in the nation. What were the consequences of this?

Ms Stinson interjecting:

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

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I will tell you. It was taking South Australian investor dollars out of this state and moving them to lower cost jurisdictions. But, more than that, it was repelling people who wanted to come and invest in South Australia, saying to them '3.7 per cent'. More than half the yield you would get in South Australia was going to the government, so it was completely and utterly unacceptable—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Lee is warned.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —and that's why we have decided to take on this issue and deal with an issue that those opposite were unable to deal with. They were impotent and, in fact, they are still impotent because—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —weeks and weeks after we have been talking about our position, they still haven't—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Premier, there is a point of order. Premier, please be seated. There is a point of order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The Premier is debating the opposition's view, rather than answering the question the house is asking, and he just agreed, sir.

The SPEAKER: I have the point of order. I'm going to ask the Premier to come back to the substance of the question.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I'm happy to come back to the substance of the question.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I have been accused of not wanting to debate the opposition's position. They don't have a position. That's the whole fundamental point. They have no idea who they stand for. They are rudderless.

The SPEAKER: Is the Premier—

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: They are completely and utterly rudderless.

The SPEAKER: I believe the Premier has finished his answer. He has finished his answer. I will take another one from the leader.

The Hon. S.S. Marshall: Has he got a better one?

The SPEAKER: Order!