Unemployment Figures

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:04): Supplementary arising out of the answer: does the minister accept that there is at least some responsibility on the state government for the fact that the unemployment figures show that, of the two major automotive manufacturing states (South Australia and Victoria), South Australia's unemployment figure is significantly higher than the 6.2 per cent figure in Victoria?

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) (15:04): What a hypocrite!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: What an absolute hypocrite!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: The audacity of the Hon. Rob Lucas to come into this place—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: —and refer to the automotive industry when he and his federal Liberal mates have torn the heart out of our automotive industry. What has the Liberal Party here in South Australia done? Nothing, absolutely nothing. He has sat there on his hands and done absolutely nothing as the federal Liberal government ripped the guts out of our automotive industry and left us high and dry. What about our submarines? A promise by the federal Liberal government to build their submarines here reneged, and what has the state Liberal Party done about that? Nothing, complete silence—the absolute audacity of the Hon. Rob Lucas coming into this place and mentioning the automotive industry.

If the Hon. Rob Lucas is genuine about wanting to grow and drive jobs here, he would be lobbying his federal Liberal mates to support the transition of our automotive industry, to build our submarines here and to replace those hundreds of millions of dollars that have been ripped out of federal funding from our health, our schools and our VET systems.