Construction Industry

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (14:29): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier explain why South Australia recorded the worst decline in the nation of the value of construction work done? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: The total value of construction work in South Australia was down 9.6 per cent for the most recent December quarter and down 9.2 per cent for the year, the largest declines in the nation. The total value of engineering construction work was down 14 per cent for the December quarter and down 13 per cent for the year, the largest decline in the nation, and the total value of building work in South Australia was down 5 per cent for the December quarter and also for the year, the worst of any state bar Western Australia.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:29): The Labor opposition continues to cherrypick the statistics and talk down the state. I have not met one single person in the construction sector right across the state who isn't telling me how well they are going at the moment. I haven't met one single person in the sector who isn't very grateful that they now have a government in South Australia that is creating the conditions conducive to growing their business in this state, whether it be lowering payroll tax here in South Australia, lowering land tax in South Australia, lowering the emergency services levy in South Australia or—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —massively, massively investing in skills in South Australia—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Lee will cease interjecting.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —a $288 million investment in delivering the skills we need for the future. They also love the fact that we are delivering a $16.7 billion pipeline of projects in South Australia, whether that be in terms of our roads projects, both here in metropolitan Adelaide or right across regional South Australia, or whether that be upgrading our hospitals in South Australia or upgrading our schools in South Australia with a massive $1.3 billion build.

What I know is that the people in the construction sector are finding it very good to have that clarity about the forward pipeline and also about the commitments that have been made in the budget. Of course, we know the December quarter was a difficult quarter for South Australia—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Lee!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —because we had the Parafield cluster and, whilst those opposite want to snigger and snipe from the side, this was a very dangerous situation. I want to thank every single person who worked very cooperatively. Small sacrifices at the individual level and the collective level kept our state safe. We made a decision that we would go in hard and early, and in South Australia this meant there was a significant hit to many individuals and businesses and more broadly across the community, but we came out of that very quickly.

It will have an effect on that December quarter but, as I said, the trajectory in terms of construction jobs in South Australia is extraordinarily good, and that's why we are heavily investing in skills to make sure we have that skills requirement going into the future. Of course, it is a delicate balancing act, and one of the things we have been very concerned about in government is thinking about what sort of level of stimulus could actually result in some construction inflation in South Australia. This is a very genuine concern.

We have already seen construction inflation in other parts of the country, so it is a matter of trying to keep a steady flow of work that matches the skill and supply side of the economy, and I have every confidence that that is exactly and precisely what we are doing.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Before I call the member for Lee, I warn the Minister for Education, I warn for a second time the member for Playford, I warn for a second time the member for Lee and I warn the leader.