Employment Figures

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:30): Supplementary question arising out of the minister's answer: given the figures that the Leader of the Opposition has quoted and the minister has replied to, after almost 14 years in government, does the minister accept that she and the government have failed the people of South Australia on the critical issue of creating jobs?

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) (14:31): No, not at all.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: We saw last month employment figures improve slightly, which was very pleasing. As I have indicated in this place before, we have seen unprecedented challenges to South Australia that have also been experienced globally but have had an amplified impact on South Australia's economy. I have talked in this place before about the double whammy: not only do we see the federal Liberal government pull out their support for Holden workers and the automotive industry—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Hundreds of jobs have already gone. That is how ignorant the Hon. David Ridgway is: hundreds of jobs have already gone because of the federal Liberal government's decision to withdraw their support to our automotive industry here in South Australia. Hundreds have gone already and a thousand-odd more will go into the future.

We are facing unprecedented challenges, and the Liberal colleagues sit there unashamed. They have done very little to support South Australians. We have watched, as I said, their federal Liberal colleagues rip the automotive industry from under our feet and we have also seen them try to renege on our submarines deal as well. They committed to 12 submarines being built here in South Australia and they are trying to renege on that. What did we see these Liberal lackeys do? What do we see from these Liberal lackeys? Nothing—they sit there on their hands and do absolutely nothing. They sit there and do nothing other than talk this state down, talk us down, talk South Australians down and do nothing to create new jobs and innovation here in South Australia.