Tax Policy

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (16:44): My question is to the Treasurer. Does the Treasurer stand by his comment and commitment on 17 March that there will be no new taxes, that there will be no tax increases?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer) (16:45): It gives me great pleasure to rise and answer this question. I congratulate the member for Colton on his re-election as the local member. He will have plenty of time on his hands to consult abs.gov.au for all sorts of statistical information which he might otherwise seek during question time because he won't have to put up with the hordes of protesters concerned about a sand pipeline being built through the sand dunes in his electorate.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Morphett is called to order, the member for Colton and the member for Hartley.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: We listened very closely to the community over the last four years, we listened very closely to the business community over the last four years, and what we heard from them was a message loud and clear: they didn't want to be misled once again by a government here in South Australia on the issue of taxation, because the previous Liberal government told the community that they would, amongst their commitments, lower costs.

Mr COWDREY: Point of order, sir: debate again. The previous government is irrelevant to the Treasurer's commitment—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I am hearing the member for Colton in relation to a point of order. There is some force in what the member for Colton says. I will listen carefully.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: A commitment had been given about lowering costs. Of course, what we saw in 2019 was the breaking of a convention more than decades long to massively escalate household taxes—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: —fees and charges imposed by government.

Mr COWDREY: Point of order: again, debate, sir. Historical context has no relevance to the Treasurer's commitment. Does he stand by it or does he not?

The SPEAKER: Very well. Treasurer, I draw your attention to the question. I will listen carefully.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: I am just providing a bit of background as to why we made the commitment that of course we stand behind, and that's when a government go to the people and say that they are going to lower costs but they do the exact opposite. They increased taxes, fees and charges by a combined $500 million over four years, including the most egregious increase to land taxes—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: —this state has ever seen.

The SPEAKER: The member for Colton on a point of order. I understand you are maintaining your point of order, member for Colton?

Mr COWDREY: Debate, besides being irrelevant.

The SPEAKER: Very well. The question of relevance, of course, is to some extent subjective and I find myself in the position where I have to decide. The member for Colton, of course, has raised a point of order with some force. Treasurer, I appreciate you are seeking to offer the house a degree of context. There has been some context so far, and I draw you back to the question.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Listening to the complaints of the community, including the business community over recent years, we made the decision that we were going to be honest and up-front with the community when it came to tax policy. We weren't going to say one thing and then do something else after an election, like a government that had come before us. We were going to keep our commitments, just as the Premier has already confirmed to this house.

We won't be doing what's happened in the recent past by a different political party when they were on the treasury bench. We will be maintaining our commitments and we will be maintaining our commitments in particular when it comes to tax policy.