EXPORT INDUSTRY

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:30): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Leader of the Government a question about the state of exports from this state.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: On the morning of 5 April, the Minister for Manufacturing, Innovation and Trade spoke about the state of our economy and the level of state exports. Minister Koutsantonis said that South Australia's economy was robust and that exports were extremely strong. After having a look at the real figures, I notice that exports in the last year of the Liberal government in 2001-02 were worth $9.1 billion. When adjusted for inflation, this figure is around $12 billion. The level of exports for the year 2010-11 was $11.2 billion; therefore in real terms the state is exporting $800 million less than it was 10 years ago. My questions are:

1. How can the minister say our economy is performing strongly when the statistics show that our export activity has gone backwards over the 10-year period of this government?

2. Given that leading economists have stated that the South Australian economy is in recession, doesn't this show that the government's economic policies have failed?

3. Where is the Premier's so-called mining boom, given that there are fewer people employed in mining now than there were in the 1980s?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (14:32): It is appalling, absolutely appalling, to see that level of negativity. To be suggesting that the South Australian economy is in a recession is just outright irresponsible. It is appalling conduct from the Hon. Terry Stephens but typical of the opposition, because all we ever hear from them is bagging the state, putting the state down, negativity, rattling business confidence and rattling consumer confidence. Over and over and over and over, that's what we see.

South Australia and Australia have been faced with some very tough times. There have been significant issues globally that have had a significant global impact on our economy, which includes the impact on our dollar, and the effect that has on our exports also has a profound impact. Indeed there are many—

The Hon. T.J. Stephens interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Indeed, there are many—

The Hon. T.J. Stephens: Absolute garbage!

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Stephens seems to think he knows the answer. Perhaps the minister is wasting her time.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I do take this opportunity to set him straight though, Mr President. There are many, many very strong economic indicators for South Australia in spite of the tough times. The reason we have so many strong economic indicators is because of the sound financial government—the Rann government and now the Jay Weatherill government—that led us through a very difficult economic time. Now we see ourselves reaping the rewards of being in a very strong economic situation compared with other states and internationally as well.

We are very well placed, particularly given the base that we come from. There are variable conditions across various sectors of, obviously, the national and state economies at the moment. Obviously, some sectors are doing really well, such as mining and agriculture, and others are obviously much softer, particularly retail and also property.

South Australia's gross state product growth was 2.4 per cent in 2010-11. This was the third highest of the states after WA and is higher than the national average of 2.1 per cent. So, our GSP was higher than the national average of 2.1 per cent, so that is doing pretty well. In per capita terms, South Australia recorded the highest GSP growth rate in the country of 1.5 per cent versus the national average of 0.6—again, above the national average.

A strong farm year, following good growing conditions, boosted grain output in 2010-11—I see that grain prices are looking pretty good at the moment as well—and contributed significantly to overall GSP growth, as did the return to normal production at Olympic Dam, following the incidents there. In terms of export incomes in South Australia, there were near record highs, with the growth in South Australia outperforming the national average. This is ABS data. In the 12 months to January 2012, the value of South Australia's overseas goods exports rose by 25 per cent.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Twenty-five per cent. I know my colleagues behind me are having trouble comprehending that—25 per cent on the previous 12 months' original terms. We had the highest growth rate amongst the states, and that was to be $11.9 billion—the highest growth rate amongst the states.

The Hon. Terry Stephens comes in here and talks about exports and, again, gets it completely wrong. He cherry-picks through to find the worst bit of data he can get, works to find the worst bit of data that he can interpret to bag and put this state down when, in fact, our overseas goods exports rose by 25 per cent—the highest growth rate amongst the states. We see the opposition come in here time and time again. They make things up, get things wrong, badly research their information and, again, come in here and basically say anything they like—just pull it out of the air.

Other important economic indicators: private new capital expenditure is at high levels in South Australia, growing by 3.6 per cent over the year to the December quarter, despite the 1 per cent decline in the December quarter. The BHP Billiton indenture legislation indicated that it is likely to spend around $525 million. The Olympic Dam expansion is likely to provide a huge boost to our economy by creating significant direct and indirect employment opportunities, as well as creating business opportunities for suppliers, contractors and manufacturers.

The state government's investment in capital infrastructure and transport projects has boosted the construction sector—for example, investment in the new RAH, the Adelaide Oval, the electrification of part of our network and the South Road Superway project. There is $109 billion worth of major developments underway or in the pipeline—$109 billion worth of major progress.

In trend terms, South Australian employment growth through the year to February 2012 was 0.5 per cent or 4,100 additional jobs. Since 2002, employment in South Australia has grown by just under 130,000 in trend terms. We have more hospital beds, we have more nurses, we have more doctors, more commitment to infrastructure. There are many very positive indicators, including economic indicators—of course, not to mention the number of mines with the exploration projects that we have authorised, and we continue to do that. These are challenging times, but in economic terms South Australia is doing extremely well and we are punching well above our weight.