HomeBuilder Program

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (14:41): My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer provide assistance to Colin from Underdale and, if not, why not? With your leave is, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr COWDREY: Colin Scarlett's house is still being built and will not be complete for at least another few months. Colin is retired and will be forced to spend another $25,000 out of his retirement savings if he loses access to the HomeBuilder grant.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer) (14:42): Again, despite having the first name of the constituent that the member for Colton has raised in this place, he hasn't furnished me with any further particulars about Colin's circumstances. However, if he is able to provide those, looking at those circumstances, if ostensibly the situation is that he has satisfied the HomeBuilder criteria, then that would be a situation of course that RevenueSA should absolutely be encouraged to examine, if it appears on the face of it that they have made the wrong decision.

But if the circumstance is in fact something different, which is that they can't satisfy that criteria of the HomeBuilder scheme that the member for Colton is encouraging me to negotiate with the commonwealth government to be opened back up and changed for the group of people who find themselves in this very difficult and unfortunate situation, then that is not something that I would direct RevenueSA to do, because that would of course be a breach of the national partnership agreement which the previous comment struck with the previous coalition government federally.

However, let me reiterate the offer that I have made now over a period of more than two weeks to the member for Colton: if there are people who want to avail themselves of the opportunity to catch up with Department of Treasury and Finance officers, RevenueSA staff, to look at the particulars of their circumstances to see, beyond HomeBuilder, if there is any additional effort or assistance that can be put to their circumstances, then that offer remains absolutely open.