Question Time

State Debt

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (14:08): My question is to the Treasurer. Will state debt peak at $44 billion, as in the budget papers, or will it further accelerate in future years?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer, Minister for Defence and Space Industries) (14:08): We have outlined the state budget and the budget position over the next four years which, as the member for Colton has alluded to in his question, does show that state debt increases to $44 billion. That, of course, will incorporate a significant amount, but not the total amount, of new spending that will come into the forward estimates to deliver a $25.6 billion infrastructure works program across a whole range of projects over the next four years, in particular led by the significant commitment that this government has made to finishing what Labor started many years ago with the upgrade of the north-south corridor, as well as delivering a new Women's and Children's Hospital.

Of course, in our first two state budgets we have also committed to a range of upgrades to hospitals and healthcare facilities, which will see more beds delivered across our health system. We have also announced upgrades to our prison capacity. There have been very significant commitments made to increasing housing as well, in particular public, social and affordable housing.

Beyond the end of the 2027-28 financial year, we will still have more work to do to finish the Torrens to Darlington tunnels project, and the new Women's and Children's Hospital project, and the extent to which debt increases will not only depend on how much expenditure we have to go on those two projects beyond the forward estimates, of course, but whatever decisions the government may take into the future.

We have had the Leader of the Opposition say today in his budget reply that he strongly supports the Northern Water project and the government's involvement in it. Of course, if the state government was to take a position on that project, where we were going to make a form of financial commitment to delivering that desalination plant and pipeline project from the Upper Spencer Gulf into the state's Mid North, then that would come at a further cost to the budget, which isn't currently allocated.

Overall, what the state's debt position will be will not just be as a result of those particular measures going forward, and what the costs of them will be into the future, but also any other decisions the government might take, which might add to the state's debt position or it might alleviate the state's debt position. The other thing which alleviates the state's debt position is what happens to the overall size of the budget. What we have seen in the first three budgets that we have been able to deliver, on the back of a very, very strong state economy and on the back of strong GST revenue growth, is state revenues continuing to increase, which gives the budget the capacity to take on additional debt.

In fact, in this current financial year—by 30 June this year—state debt is estimated to be $3.6 billion lower than at the same time that the previous Liberal government had forecast it, and our net debt to revenue ratio is a full 28 percentage points lower, so the budget is in a much, much better state than what the previous government had left it to us—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: —a much, much stronger state, and even next year the net debt to revenue ratio will be better off than what they predicted.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Colton, I remind everyone that interjections aren't allowed, so we will listen to answers in silence. The member for Colton.