Business Investment

Mrs PEARCE (King) (14:36): Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, and thank you to all who provided birthday wishes today. My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the house on business investment levels in South Australia?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:36): I thank the member for King for her question on her birthday. Her asking this question, I know, is all her birthday dreams and wishes coming true.

The member for King does ask an important question because yet again today we have seen the Australian Bureau of Statistics release yet more figures that demonstrate just how well the South Australian economy is performing. Today, they released their quarterly figures for private new capital expenditure, and that showed that annual private new capital expenditure is now at a record high in South Australia of $10.2 billion. That is in excess of 10 per cent higher on where it was at the time of the election of this government.

This record level of new private capital expenditure meant there was growth of 13.6 per cent, which has outpaced the national average currently of 10.7 per cent. Business investment in buildings in particular has been growing at a great clip. On its own, this statistic might not amount to too much, but it doesn't exist on its own. It exists in conjunction with basically every recent report coming out from the ABS, where it weighs up the performances of states around the country, showing that South Australia is not just outperforming the rest of the country; it is actually outperforming almost every other jurisdiction in the country. We have the second lowest unemployment rate in the mainland, we have the highest gross state product growth in the state—

Mr Teague: Address the issues you went to the election on.

The SPEAKER: The member for Heysen is warned.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier has the call.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: We are outperforming the country in growth, we are outperforming the country in business investment, we are outperforming the country in respect of the labour market, and each of those things matter because they are a reflection of South Australians' standard of living. We cannot expect South Australia's position around wages policy, which is something that this government cares about deeply, to be improving unless the state's economy is performing well. It is something that we were committed to at the election. Of course, we are doing that in an environment where we are operating with a commitment to try to balance the budget as best we possibly can, and it is underpinned—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —by a robust policy in regard to investing in economic growth in the areas that we know will deliver for people in the long term. We are absolutely committed to a long-term economic trajectory to bring new wealth to our state but, more than that, to make sure that that new wealth we are able to attract—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —gets dispersed amongst as many people as possible and that, in that period of growth, we do not leave behind generations or swathes of people who are not able to participate in the labour market because we haven't invested in their skills and in their education.

Regardless of whether you grew up in regional South Australia, outer suburban Adelaide or closer to the city, we are investing in technical colleges and we have a lot more public investment in TAFE, three-year-old preschool and greater access to universities, particular from lower SES communities, so they can get the skills to be able to participate in an economy that is growing, becoming increasingly diverse but also focused on industries of tomorrow, industries into the future, particularly around the decarbonisation opportunity.

We have a serious and comprehensive economic plan not just for the sake of the economy itself but for the sake of the welfare of our people in this state, each and every one of them, regardless of their background or where they come from.