Federal Budget

Mr BROWN (Florey) (14:33): My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer provide the house with an update on the recent federal budget and the implications for South Australia?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer) (14:33): It gives me great pleasure to talk about what was revealed for the benefit of South Australians in the release of the federal budget on Tuesday of last week. Of course, we were very pleased to see that the federal budget contains a significant number of new projects for South Australia, including one that I think enjoys bipartisanship support; I'm not 100 per cent sure. It's the $120 million Majors Road interchange—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: No, it doesn't.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Has that changed?

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: It's changed. It's no longer his number one priority.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Anyway, it's funded by $60 million, a 50 per cent funding arrangement to be shared with the state government for the Majors Road interchange with the Southern Expressway. I am also pleased to report 50 per cent funding towards the $400 million project that will remove the Glenelg tramline level crossings with Marion Road and Cross Road, which is good news. There is $200 million representing that 50 per cent funding share from the commonwealth and $400 million to fund key freight routes in regional South Australia, because it doesn't matter if you're in the Riverland, if you're on North Terrace, if you're in Texas or California, everyone knows that regions matter—everyone knows the regions matter. The $400 million towards that—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: —is most welcome.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: And, of course, as we have just been discussing, the commonwealth remains committed to funding its share—50 per cent share—of the north-south corridor project. We are also very pleased not just in the transport area but also in the health area that South Australian Labor has been successful in convincing a federal government of either persuasion but, tellingly in this case, a federal Labor government, to be funding significant health infrastructure, and $200 million towards a significant upgrade of medical facilities in the southern suburbs, centred around the Flinders Medical Centre, is most welcome.

Speaking of most welcome, there was a significant increase that the commonwealth made to the projections of the national GST pool, an extraordinary revision up from what was already in some people's mind a significant estimate of an increase in the pool of 9 per cent this financial year from the previous year. That has now been revised to 12 per cent—and I can feel my colleagues around me already banking in how that is to be accounted for. That's for the current financial year, and Treasury is working through the budget papers and also the assumptions of other state and territory colleagues to determine what that will mean for the remainder of the four-year forward estimates with regard to GST revenues.

I was also really pleased to see—and I know the Minister for Housing and Urban Development and also the Minister for Human Services were also pleased to see—in particular the announcement of a national housing accord reached between the federal government, state and territory governments and also the national housing construction industry, aiming, as a headline aim for the nation, to deliver one million new dwellings over a five-year period, with the federal government increasing their election commitment of 30,000 affordable houses to be delivered by an extra 10,000 on the basis that the states and territories combine to deliver 10,000.

So 50,000 additional affordable homes for Australia is very good news, particularly for those people without access to secure housing. We are looking forward to playing our part in delivering that initiative, as we will for all of the other initiatives involving South Australia in the federal government.