Question Time

STATE DEBT

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:25): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Acting Leader of the Government, representing the Premier and Treasurer, a question about distance.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: At the next election, South Australians will collectively owe the banks $13 billion. End to end in $1 coins, that is a line of some 325,000 kilometres. That is not far shy of the distance between Adelaide and the moon, which at perigee, as I am sure you would know, Mr President, is 357,643 kilometres: a line of $1 coins eight times around the world. That is the ALP's state debt.

The debt is growing at nearly $4 million a day. Every year, every week, day and night, every hour, every one of us in South Australia owes more and more. Like quicksand, deeper and deeper in debt—$4 million a day. In dollar coins, that line grows 100 kilometres a day, at $166,000 an hour; that is an extra four kilometres in dollar coins laid end to end every 60 minutes. From the start of parliamentary question time to the end is an extra line of debt, eight times around Adelaide Oval.

The minister would have to run flat chat for a solid hour, sprinting all the while, eight times around the oval without stopping. While he is galloping around, from a huge barrow he would be pushing, weighed down with 2½ tonnes of dollar coins, he would have to be throwing out $2,766 a second, never slowing and never stopping for the solid hour between today's first parliamentary question and today's last answer—eight times around the oval. My question to the minister is: what will it do, what will it take, to make him stop running up our debt?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:27): I thank the honourable Leader of the Opposition for his most poetic question. I must say what would stop me would be about 100 metres, and then I would probably have a heart attack, trying to run around the oval carrying a barrel-load of dollar coins. I am sure that the Premier and the Treasurer in the other place, being much fitter than I am, will be able to answer your question, and I will take it to them and seek a response on your behalf.