Employment Figures

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (14:36): My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer update the house on the South Australian jobs market?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer, Minister for Defence and Space Industries) (14:37): I am very grateful to the member for Elder for the question because, as the Premier was saying before, there has been some good news today on South Australia's jobs market. Not only, as the Premier recounted, has our unemployment rate fallen to 4.2 per cent but there are now 56,000 more South Australians employed in our state than at the time of the last state election. Just think about that: that is more than enough people to fill Adelaide Oval in approximately 2½ years who have gained work.

That just shows the extraordinary strength of the state's economy. Even more pleasingly, just over half of those jobs, 29,000 of those jobs, are full-time jobs. So when the Leader of the Opposition asks about people getting more hours, it is pleasing to see that of that extraordinary number of new jobs added since the election of the Malinauskas government, more than half of them are full-time jobs—really good news.

It is also good to point out that while the unemployment rate is only 0.1 of a percentage point above the national average—which is 4.1 per cent—our unemployment rate remains well below the decade average of 5.8 per cent and, I think, the unemployment rate of the last election, which was originally 5 per cent and subsequently revised down to 4.9. It is a really substantial improvement in the state's job market since the change of government.

There are a number of reasons for that. Many people are commenting, both within South Australia and also around the country, that there is a newfound sense of optimism and momentum to South Australia that simply was not evident before March 2022, that there is more inbound investment coming into our state. Not only is that because the government has made good on its commitment not to increase taxes but, by providing certainty and clarity to the business community, not foisting unannounced—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left will come to order.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: —massive tax hikes on South Australians like those opposite did when they were in government, we are seeing more and more investment. As the Premier said, only he and the Minister for Housing and Urban Development were out there this morning, demonstrating once again another company from outside of our state choosing to invest many millions of dollars to grow our economy and to—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: I note that the new Liberal leader here in South Australia, the fledgling Liberal leader, the latest in the line—it is not a zinger: it is actually depressing.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader and deputy leader will come to order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader will leave the chamber until the end of question time.

The honourable member for Hartley having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Off for the new compulsory tests they are introducing at long last, it seems. Thousands of houses are to be delivered, and despite the Leader of the Opposition and his protectionism, which he was calling out across the chamber, we welcome inbound investment and the jobs that it grows, as evidenced in today's labour market statistics.