SA Water Bills

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (14:18): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier rule out any further government increases to household water bills?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:18): I rule out draconian, backward, retrospective policy like those opposite seem to be committed to when it comes to addressing the housing crisis. That is what I rule out. What we know the Leader of the Opposition is doing is he is shaping up to maybe having a policy of his own, and I look forward to that contest. I look forward to going to the next election knowing that the alternative government of the state is telling young people that he is going to cut investment in water infrastructure, because that is what your plan is. Their plan—

Mr TEAGUE: Point of order: standing order 98(a). It couldn't be clearer. The question was very straightforward. The Premier has decided to debate tangential issues. He should answer the question. And the clapping is out of order for good measure.

The SPEAKER: The Premier.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: And it is not just about water prices. When it comes to addressing the housing crisis, you have to have a cogent and comprehensive policy that seeks to address a whole suite of challenges, and that is what we are doing: land supply, water infrastructure, tax reform. We are abolishing a whole tax in the form of stamp duty for first-home buyers on new builds. We know, of course, that we're doing more work around rezoning of land, planning reform and we have, in fact, restructured government in terms of how we tackle housing policy. We have done a lot of work with the Housing Trust as well. There is not a lever at our disposal that we're not willing to pull to make sure that we get somewhere when it comes to housing growth in South Australia. We won't be taking a retrospective negative approach, we will be making the tough decisions that are required.

Every time you hear someone from the opposition proffering a simplistic solution to a complex problem, you know that is a recipe for doing nothing. We know that is a recipe for doing nothing. We are making the tough decisions, and we are doing the hard work because this is a serious challenge that requires serious policy to confront it.