Land Tax

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (14:24): My question is to the Premier. How many of the 47,000 land tax payers the Premier just referred to will save money from the changes to be introduced to the parliament in October?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:24): I have mentioned this to the member for Lee for quite some time, and he doesn't seem to get it. He is the person who is being put up by the opposition as the alternative treasurer for South Australia. Our reforms fall into three parts: one is to lift the threshold from $391,000 to $450,000—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens can leave for 20 minutes under 137A for constant interjections.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: If you keep interjecting, you will be named.

The honourable member for West Torrens having withdrawn from the chamber:

The SPEAKER: The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: The second is to put an aggregation arrangement in place that is fair, equitable and comparable with other jurisdictions in Australia. The third element is to take the top marginal rate from 3.7 per cent—not to 3.5 or 3.2 or to gradually drop it over a seven-year period, as we announced on budget day, but to drop it immediately, on 1 July next year, to 2.4 per cent. It's almost impossible to believe that there are people in South Australia who are arguing against making our state more competitive.

Mr Brown: Why is it a tax increase? Why did the Treasurer say it's a tax increase?

The SPEAKER: The member for Playford is warned.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Why would anybody say that they would like South Australia to remain, essentially, kryptonite to investment coming into this state?

Mr Brown: Why did the Treasurer say it's a tax increase?

The SPEAKER: The member for Playford is warned for a second and final time.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We want to attract, to be a magnet to bring investment dollars in from interstate, to keep investment dollars in our state. It is soul destroying when so much of our capital is going across the border—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —into New South Wales, into Victoria, into Queensland.

Ms Stinson: Do you want to read the InDaily article? You can get up to speed with what your Treasurer is saying.

The SPEAKER: The member for Badcoe is warned.

Ms Stinson: We've got a copy. We can bring it over.

The SPEAKER: The member for Badcoe is warned for a second and final time.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: It is soul destroying to see this capital from South Australian sources going into other jurisdictions. We are stopping that. We are putting an end to that. We are going to be bringing money in from interstate and we are going to be stopping money going out of South Australia because we are making it a more attractive place to invest, to create jobs, to grow businesses—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —and to make a more prosperous state.