House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Question Time Housing Supply Housing Supply The Hon. V.A. TARZIA House of Assembly Hartley Housing Supply The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (14:06): My question is to the Premier. Is the Premier concerned new homes will need to be built in South Australia at record levels to meet targets of the National Housing Accord? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain. Leave granted. The Hon. V.A. TARZIA House of Assembly Hartley The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Data released yesterday shows just over 12½ thousand dwellings were completed across South Australia over the past 12 months, nearly 3,500 short of the approximate 16,000 homes per year needed. The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Premier Minister for Defence and Space Industries The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier, Minister for Defence and Space Industries) (14:06): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. It provides an opportunity to reflect on those statistics that the Leader of the Opposition refers to and the work that the South Australian government has been doing at extraordinary pace to get more homes built for more South Australians, particularly young ones. Let's start with the stats. The Leader of the Opposition is right. The ABS released data yesterday and it was decisive in that it showed that total dwelling approvals are up by 28 per cent—a 28 per cent increase on the 2024 year. That is a rate of growth that is almost unprecedented for the state of South Australia. More than that, according— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Morphett and the member for Flinders, you are on your final warnings because it has been a big week for you two. The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Premier Minister for Defence and Space Industries The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: According to the ABS, South Australia is well above the national average. Overall, total construction work done is 12 per cent higher than the year earlier. Nationally, that figure is 4.2 per cent. We are outpacing the rest of the country not by a few marginal basis points but by three times, and that speaks to a housing market that is on the go in this state. That speaks to the Minister for Housing and Urban Development following the thorough piece of policy work done in the Housing Roadmap. It's making a difference on the ground. When you travel through the northern suburbs of Adelaide, which I am sure occasionally—occasionally—members opposite might do, maybe, every now and then, and you encounter road construction work, what you will consistently see are roads being torn up. That is a civil construction exercise that's all about one single objective: getting more water pipes in the ground, getting more water to the suburbs that is needed to allow the growth to occur. We know those opposite, during the course of the regulatory period for which they were responsible, delivered a $150 million investment into new water infrastructure—$150 million for the whole of the state. We have turned that into over 10 times that—10 times that. That's a real investment in water infrastructure that unlocks the housing blocks and gets the development happening to build new homes. The ABS shows we are winning; we are winning the national race. It's not only the ABS that those opposite might want to pay attention to. Let's look at other independent organisations that assess performance of governments around the country. The Housing Industry Association rank every state around Australia. Where does South Australia fare in terms of this government policy? Number one. Number one in the country they have ranked us. How about the Business Council of Australia, the BCA? The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting: The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS House of Assembly Croydon Premier Minister for Defence and Space Industries The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: That's right. It's hardly an organisation that sits around and says, 'Well how do we favour this Labor government over here?' They have ranked every state around the country as well and said that we are the number one jurisdiction in the federation when it comes to housing policy and making the decisions that unlock the growth that is required. Do you know why that growth is required? The housing growth is required because we also happen to live in the fastest growing economy on the mainland of this nation. We have the fastest growing economy, the most housing demand and, in turn, the fastest growing housing supply because this is a government that's working with industry to make the policy decisions that are courageous in nature to get things done. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Before I call the leader, the noise coming from my left is unacceptable, so people will be watching on from their offices if the tone doesn't quieten down a little bit. The Leader of the Opposition.