State Debt

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (14:20): My question again is to the Premier. Can the Premier advise the house how many jobs were created as a result of the state government increasing government debt by more than $10 billion in their first two budgets prior to COVID-19?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:20): We know that we had a record employment number back earlier this year and, of course, that was prior to COVID. We were well on the way to improving—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —the situation that we had inherited from those opposite. We were well on the way to achieving what we needed to, with record employment in South Australia, but, like the rest of the country and like the rest of the world—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader will cease interjecting.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —we had a major setback with the coronavirus, and some jurisdictions cowered from that; some did not invest. We did invest and, very proudly, we were the first jurisdiction in the country to put money on the table, firstly, to support those people who were doing it extraordinarily hard and, secondly, to make sure that we could preserve as many jobs as possible. So that's precisely what we did.

One of the first things that we did was to provide cash grants to those small businesses in South Australia that were significantly affected by the coronavirus; in fact, we handed out $186 million worth of immediate cash support to those businesses. And I have been stopped in the street—stopped in the street—by small business owners who said to me that this was absolutely critical for their survival.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: That money came in record time and it helped them pay their rent, pay their staff, pay for supplies. It gave them hope. It gave them hope that they had a government that cared about their circumstances, which were dire. Thankfully, as a state we have done extraordinarily well from a health perspective, and that has meant that we have been able to lift the restrictions, and so many of our businesses, because they got over that bridge of April, May and June, have been able to rebound.

Not every business is in this situation, and so there still is stimulus and support, which is required, which will be required for some businesses for an extended period of time, but we've got to be doing everything we can to support the overall economic rebound from the coronavirus, and that's what yesterday's budget was all about.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Lee, I call to order the member for Lee and I warn the member for Playford.