MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEES

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:37): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Leader of the Government a question about vehicle registration fees.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: Recently, I spoke with a small business person who advised me that they had just registered some of their company vehicles in South Australia and interstate. Two were registered here in South Australia and two were registered in Queensland, but I was disturbed when I found that the cost of registering a vehicle in Queensland was significantly lower than in South Australia. I was advised that the total cost of registering a utility in Queensland was $707, while in South Australia it was a total of $950. These were standard 12 month registrations for exactly the same vehicles. Being the numbers man of note that you are, Mr President, you would have would have worked out very quickly that that is a difference of 25 per cent. It is quite disgraceful.

Given that in the recent past the minister has said that South Australia is open for business, what sort of incentive does he think this provides to people in small business to set up or continue operating in South Australia?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (14:38): Obviously the figures that the honourable member is using would include third-party insurance costs, and it may very well be that third-party coverage in this state is more comprehensive than that in Queensland. I am not sure exactly what the situation is in Queensland but, presumably, when it comes to insurance, the greater proportion of fees depends on the scheme. I am not sure whether or not that is part of the answer; I would have to research it, and I will refer the question to my colleague in another place.

However, as a general comment can I say that in many respects this state has cheaper charges and lower costs than other parts of the country: we have cheaper housing costs, lower payroll tax and so on. It would be impossible for us to be the lowest in every single commodity, and I am sure that if you looked through all the costs and charges in the state you would find some where we were higher than other states, but you would find many where we were lower. Overall, South Australia is a low cost place in which to do business in this country, and this government is always looking at ways to keep our costs competitive.

Having said that, we will also have members opposite saying (if not in today's question time then no doubt very soon) that we should be spending more money in a whole host of areas including roads, for example, which of course these fees largely go to provide.

What economics is all about, and what good government is all about, is balancing up the costs. We need to make our industries competitive, of course. Fees and charges have to be competitive but also we endeavour to provide a level of services commensurate with the needs and the particularities of the people in this state.

That, of course, is the hard part of government, and this is what it is all about. It is very easy to look around and say that we charge more than some states in terms of a particular fee, but it is also true that we provide levels of services in some areas that are higher than those elsewhere. What we do know is that overall South Australia is a low cost state to do business in.