State Debt

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (14:30): My question is again to the Premier. How long will it take to pay off the $33 billion of debt announced in yesterday's state budget? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain my question.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Last year, the Treasurer stated that the debt, forecast at more than $21 billion at that time, would not be paid off in his lifetime.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:30): Well, of course, much depends on how the world responds to the coronavirus, and nobody has a crystal ball. That's one of the reasons why, when Treasury provide their estimates, we do it over a four-year period—not over a six-month or 12-month period but over a four-year period—because we have some certainty with regard to what is likely to happen within that period.

It is impossible to predict exactly what is going to happen in eight, 10, or 12 years' time. Nobody was predicting that we were going to be hit this year not only with terrible and punishing droughts and bushfires but then with COVID-19. However, what we have in South Australia at the moment is a government which remains nimble, remains flexible but, most importantly, remains focused on the people of South Australia, preserving jobs and creating new ones.