Employment Figures

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:37): Does the minister accept that if the state government was to reduce state taxes and thereby reduce business costs, that would help improve the employment situation in South Australia?

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) (15:37): We are a state that works hard to support business. We have already made payroll tax concessions, we have put in place major WorkCover reforms, and we are obviously working very hard at building a skilled workforce and supporting skilled migration. We are also providing more help for businesses to win government work through a number of initiatives—the most recent one was Tender Ready, in collaboration with Business SA.

There are a number of initiatives that we have put in place, and, as I said, just this very week our Premier announced major proposals to debate in detail—tax reform, that is on the table, as well as potential time zone changes and nuclear industry changes. These are three major policy initiatives that have been put on the table for public consultation and consideration, and each one of those on their own could potentially have an enormous economic influence, a positive influence on our economy.