Cost of Living

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (14:22): My question again is to the Premier. What does the Premier say to South Australian families struggling with the cost of living? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Last week, the government introduced increases to fees on essential items like driver's registration, learner's permits and licence fees above the inflation rate.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:23): This goes back to the first question the Leader of the Opposition had regarding the formula that informs the adjustments to those fees. The Leader of the Opposition's question was, 'What does the Premier say to the people of South Australia with respect to cost of living?' There's a few things that we would say.

In respect of cost-of-living relief, we have very deliberately as a government not just acknowledged the challenge but sought to make a difference during the course of our budgets, all three in fact. What we have acknowledged is that, as a state government, our capacity to provide the sort of broad-based tax support that we see at a federal level we obviously can't replicate, but we still can make a difference.

We have said that, rather than providing a little bit of difference to as many people as possible, we want to make a big difference to a smaller number of people who are doing it particularly tough. We have had a progressive policy that is consistent with our value system and I guess political philosophy that, as a Labor government, we acknowledge there are people in the community whose capacity to be able to withstand a cost-of-living challenge is less than what it might be for others who might have more disposable income available to them.

So we have had a deliberate orientation towards those people who need it most: we think of pensioners, we think of people on fixed incomes, we think of families with children in school with support that we can provide around sports vouchers or the fees and services charge relief. That is where we have orientated our support and made a big difference—and people can see it. They know it is real; our commitments there are not subject to interpretation.

But also I think what the people of South Australia can draw a degree of confidence from is that these are the issues that occupy the deliberations before us in government, in the caucus and in the cabinet room. There are lots of things that members of parliament can focus their attention on; we deliberately choose to focus our attention on the things that worry South Australians most. When we convene as a party, as a caucus, as a cabinet, we make sure that we have the discipline to ensure that there is a unity of purpose amongst us about confronting those immediate challenges and then setting ourselves up to withstand them in the long term. I wonder, is that true for everyone in this place?

Over the weekend when we on this side of the house were in our electorates talking to families, talking to businesses and thinking about the policies that we want to take to the next election and we were talking about the real issues, I wonder if everyone else in this chamber was talking and thinking about the real issues? I wonder if everyone else in this place spent their weekends thinking about the value of discipline and the value of unity of purpose? I wonder if everyone else in this place was doing that? I think that is a legitimate question. There may yet be other opportunities during the course of this forum to explore that.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the Leader of the Opposition, I call to order the members for Chaffey and Hammond. Just keep it down a bit—actually, keep it down a lot.