Housing Stimulus Package

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (14:52): Supplementary: was this media conference cancelled because the third party scheduled to stand up with the Premier was not supportive and was critical of the Premier's stance on housing industry stimulus?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: Point of order: the question is hypothetical in its construction.

The SPEAKER: It definitely at least contained some argument or opinion, so I will take that one. Member for Lee, do you want to rephrase or have another go?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Did the Premier or his office cancel a scheduled media conference this afternoon because a third party scheduled to stand next to the Premier was unwilling to support him?

The SPEAKER: I will allow the question.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:52): I don't have any information on the points that are made by the member opposite. What I do know, though, is that the federal government have announced their HomeBuilder program and it is one that we are very supportive of here in South Australia. Housing construction is a very, very important sector—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —in South Australia. It is one that is vital in terms of employing people in this state. I was looking at our housing approval figures for April, sir, and I think you would be very interested. On a seasonal basis, South Australia had a very significant increase in April.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader, be quiet.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I've really got no idea what is going on over there at the moment.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Housing approvals in April were up very significantly on a seasonal basis, whereas in Australia they were down—I think more than 900 approvals last month. This is a sector, though, which we are very concerned about because it does employ a lot of people in South Australia.

The federal government has announced their HomeBuilder package. We have been working with them for some time, understanding what they are putting forward. We know that now with the $25,000 that they are putting forward, this can be put together with the $15,000 that the people of South Australia, the taxpayers of South Australia, offer to first-home owners. There are some conditions associated with it, but it has potential now for a $40,000 payment to those first-home owners in South Australia, which is absolutely excellent.

It's great that we had 900 housing approvals in April, but we've got to see those in May and June and July and August and September, so we are grateful for the federal government's support in that area. As the Treasurer has indicated, we are considering other measures here in South Australia and we will announce those when they are completed.