Goods and Services Tax

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (15:16): My question is again to the Premier. Does the Premier still believe the deal is 'a massive win for South Australia'? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: When the Premier was asked about the deal on 17 October 2018, he described the deal that had been reached between the states and the federal government as 'a massive win for the people of South Australia'.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (15:17): As you are aware, sir, the Liberal Party in South Australia has always been a supporter of the GST in Australia, unlike those opposite, who fought against it over a long period of time. There was an opportunity to renegotiate that deal, but certainly the position that was being put by Western Australia, and of course also by the commonwealth, was one that was unacceptable. It was unacceptable to South Australia and it was unacceptable to other jurisdictions at the time and we fought hard to make sure that there was an equalisation over this period of time as we transitioned to the new arrangement—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens can leave for half an hour.

The honourable member for West Torrens having withdrawn from the chamber:

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I didn't quite catch what he was saying, but I think he was just congratulating us on the position we have taken to return the budget to surplus over the forward estimates, because there are still many jurisdictions that can't return their budget to a surplus situation or at least to a balanced situation and that has been our focus. Yes, we have gone into additional debt. Those opposite shake their head at going into additional debt, but our primary focus over here is to make sure that we can support and stimulate economic activity and jobs during this very difficult period. The alternative is one that they haven't actually articulated—

Mr MALINAUSKAS: Point of order: standing order 98, debate. Again, the question is not about debt or the government's fiscal settings but entirely about the deal that you supported, as Premier of South Australia, about GST revenues. The question is not about debt: the question is about the GST deal that has left South Australia's revenue $250 million a year worse off, which you said was a win for South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Can I just rule on that point of order; it was in relation to debate. I think in this place the questions are asked and the ministers and the Premier can answer however they see fit. They have four minutes to do that, to build their answer, and I am happy that the Premier is doing that. Minister for Energy and Mining, did you have a point of order?

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: I do have a point of order, sir, which is that raising a point of order from the opposition is not an opportunity to make a speech.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am not going to uphold that, minister. To the opposition, it's your question time. Is the Premier finished?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: No, I was just warming up, sir. I thought I was being very pertinent to the topic that we were considering before. As the minister pointed out, we had the loquacious phrasing of a point of order by the Leader of the Opposition. No, I think that everything that I have said has been pertinent to this issue. GST is important because it's a major contributor to our state budget. It's a major form of income and it's particularly volatile at the moment. It may interest this house—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The leader can leave. I am serious. You have been on two warnings for a while and I indicated to you that you were on thin ice with two warnings.

Mr MALINAUSKAS: For how long?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Half an hour.

The honourable member for Croydon having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: As I was saying, GST is particularly volatile at the moment. We are seeing wild fluctuations in the forecasts for GST into the commonwealth coffers for ultimate distribution using that methodology to each of the individual jurisdictions. When we actually look at the causes for that, we obviously are very concerned about the situation in New South Wales, in Victoria, in the ACT, and of course today we heard about two cases in the community up in Queensland.

Every time a state is locked down, it does have an effect on spending in that state which ultimately has the effect on the GST receipts that the commonwealth take and the distribution that comes out via that methodology. So we are very concerned about—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Premier, before you go on, the member for Playford is warned for the second time, the deputy leader is called to order and the member for Kaurna is called to order.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: As I was saying, there was a very strong push from Western Australia, supported by the commonwealth government, for a very significant rewrite of the GST distribution via—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I conclude my answer, sir.