Federal Budget

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (14:57): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, representing the Premier, a question about the federal budget.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: I am in receipt of a letter from Mr Leon Bignell, the state member for Mawson. It is an interesting letter because, apart from the photo change and the name change, it is basically my letterhead—blue and green. I thought it would have been red, given that he is extreme left.

My point is that in the letter the honourable member says, 'You are one of my 22,000 bosses and I am here to work hard for you.' He goes on in the letter to say that the original Southern Expressway, built by the previous Liberal government, was an example of poor planning and made South Australia the butt of so many jokes by outsiders. He forgot to say that there was a State Bank mess created by his party, and that Mr Keating, the then prime minister, would give no money towards the road. Notwithstanding that, he goes on with other misrepresentations.

He says, in the letter, that South Australia will lose funding for the equivalent of 150 hospital beds because of the federal budget, and that unless Prime Minister Tony Abbott and federal Treasurer Joe Hockey reverse the cuts 600 beds would need to close in South Australia. He said that was the equivalent of closing an entire hospital.

He goes on from there to also say that there will be cuts to South Australian hospitals equivalent to 600 beds or closing the whole Noarlunga Hospital, that there is going to be $1,200 a student or schools may lose funding in his area. He finally says that Jay Weatherill and Leon Bignell are standing up and fighting cuts to our local schools and hospitals, and that if you want to discuss these you should call Leon's office.That is the background. My questions are:

1. Does the minister agree that this is false advertising, paid for by taxpayers, that misrepresents the truth?

2. How does the minister explain that, from investigations we have made, there are no cuts in the forward estimates of the budget from the commonwealth to the state, confirmed by the ABC's fact-checked material on its mainstream television programs and published on its website, where it absolutely and categorically say that there are no cuts? How does the minister, on behalf of the government, justify this?

3. Based on the propaganda nonsense sent at taxpayer's expense to constituents in Mawson, can the minister explain how Jay and Leon are standing up and fighting against the cuts?

The PRESIDENT: Before you get up, minister, can I say that the whole idea of question time is to ask questions about the portfolios of ministers. To ask the minister to comment on a letter written by a local MP to me is outside those boundaries, but the minister can answer the question if she wishes.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:00): Thank you, Mr President. I thank the member for his question. Indeed, the impact of the federal budget to the state budget is profound, and I am very supportive of any of our government members or any members of the public who are prepared to draw attention to the devastating impact the federal budget cuts will have on South Australia. I congratulate them on speaking up and standing up for South Australia and South Australians.

The total impact of the state budget over the forward estimates, I have been advised, is $898 million. In relation to health, I am advised that the cuts to health in 2017-18 alone are equivalent to nearly 600 beds (or the entire Flinders Medical Centre), at $269 million. The $7 GP tax, I am advised, will drive people away from GPs, putting increasing strain on emergency departments. Also, there is the removal of $440 million across the forward estimates in health by reneging on the National Health Reform Agreement, including $217 million in 2017-18; and the elimination of health national partnership agreements, which equates to $162 million over the forward estimates, including $52 million in 2017-18—

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: This is an abuse of question time.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: The Hon. Robert Brokenshire has asked the question and challenged the validity—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Maher, please!

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Ridgway! I made the comment when the question—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Ridgway and the Hon. Mr Maher, if you please, desist! The fact is that I made the comment when the question was asked that you were leading yourself into this answer, so please just cop it and let the minister answer the question as she sees fit.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Yes, take your punishment. In relation to education, we see the federal government abandoning the $320 million Gonski agreement, the Better Schools funding, over 2018-19. The cuts to our education system equate to approximately $1,200—

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: This is just ridiculous.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: You didn't interject when the Hon. Robert Brokenshire got up with all of his nonsense and mistruths—his nonsense question, and you were—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: No debating between the floor!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: —happy to sit there and listen to that. Well, you can listen to my answer. You can listen to the trail of woe and mayhem that your federal mates are going to inflict on South Australians. At least this government is prepared to stand up—

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: Point of order.

The PRESIDENT: Point of order, the Hon. Mr Dawkins.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: The minister is accusing you, sir, of lots of things. I think that she should direct her comments through you.

The PRESIDENT: I think that all members should direct their comments through me and have a little bit less debate between you and allow the minister to answer the question.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Thank you. In relation to cuts to our education system, it equates to $1,200 per student across 2018-19, equivalent to nearly 3,000 teachers cut. They are scrapping the continuation of skills (VET): the federal government is going to scrap the national partnership after 2016-17, worth $38 million, equivalent to 2.6 million training hours or 12,000 students. He says it is not in the forward estimates, but they have already chopped the tools allowance. They have completely got rid of that. Apprentices used to be able to receive a tools allowance, and that is gone. In a flick of the fingers, it is just gone.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: They were very important, those tools allowances, for enabling apprentices who are pretty low-paid to be able to go out and buy good quality tools so that they could work. There is a $38 million cut to skills, vocational education and training programs for working-aged people and a $9 million cut from training places for single and teen parents. Can you believe that? They have cut training places for single and teen parents—the cruelty and the callousness of this federal government. In concessions, we see the abolition of the national partnership from 1 July 2014, which will remove $27 million of funding for concessions—removing almost $30 million from that. There are cuts to the annual local government road funding of $17 million.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: When from? 2014-15—our country roads. The honourable member lives out in the regions. Why isn't he jumping up and down fighting to get that money back from the federal government? It is his mates who have ripped the guts out of our roads. Where is he? Sitting there on his backside. I support anyone who gets up and is prepared to fight for South Australians and fight for jobs here.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: There are a number of people who want to ask supplementary questions. I think they have the right to ask them in silence. The Hon. Ms Franks.