State Budget

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:15): My question is to the Premier. Does the Premier acknowledge that his own budget papers forecast zero per cent employment growth in the current financial year?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:15): I did point this out in my last answer, but I am very happy to stand up and talk about our budget—our jobs budget—any day of the week, all day, every day because it's good news for the people of our state.

The Leader of the Opposition asked the question how the methodology was determined in terms of the jobs growth. We take a 12-month period here in South Australia and we look at the next 12 months. That's the methodology that has been used by Treasury for an extended period of time. It's a prudent methodology, quite different from what was put in place by federal Treasury, which takes, if you like, a point in time at the beginning of the year and projects forward.

What I can tell those doubting Thomases opposite is it's already working because we have been investing not just since yesterday, but right back from the very first stimulus package that we put in place—the first stimulus package in the country; and we were proud to put that money on the table, and we have been spending money and they hate it. They hate it, but we have created tens of thousands—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —of jobs in South Australia, tens of thousands of jobs since we were in the—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

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

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —clutches of the coronavirus, which meant that there were heavy restrictions in South Australia. Let me tell you, sir, that at that time the people of South Australia were very concerned about what lay ahead for them, what was going to happen with their jobs, their livelihoods, their homes, their families, and we made a decision right then that we were not going to be broken by the coronavirus. We were going to lean into the opportunity, we were going to spend money to support jobs in South Australia and that is what has happened ever since.

Yesterday was a further massive shot in the arm for our state which takes to a total in excess of $5 billion worth of economic stimulus that we have introduced, all designed to preserve jobs in South Australia and to create new ones. And guess what? It's already happening.