Northern Economic Plan

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:06): I seek leave to make an explanation prior to directing a question to the Leader of the Government on the subject of the Northern Economic Plan.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Members would be aware that for a number of weeks I have sought further clarification details of the announcement of the Northern Economic Plan and minister Maher's commitment for 15,000 new jobs to be generated from the Northern Economic Plan. Yesterday, in response to a specific question, the minister indicated quite clearly that he had had a discussion with minister Hamilton-Smith in another place, and he had advised the house that applications for the $10 million of grants under the Small Business Development Fund were open immediately and that payments would start to be made from 1 July this year.

Members will recall that when I pointed out in a supplementary question that that was in conflict to what the minister's own departmental website said, he then clarified his question and said he would check. He also indicated then that he had not had a conversation with minister Martin Hamilton-Smith, as he had claimed in the answer to the first question, with the information being given at an officer to officer level and that he would go off and double-check.

I would have hoped that at the start of question time today the minister would have clarified whether or not he had misled the house in response to the first question yesterday or whether he was standing by the claims that he made that he had had a conversation with minister Hamilton-Smith and that applications were open immediately and grants would be made from 1 July of this year.

The second aspect of my question today is that the minister yesterday in his response also said, when I asked, 'How many jobs would be generated by the $10 million Small Business Development Fund?' which of course is the biggest part of the $24 million Northern Economic Plan, he indicated, 'There isn't a figure set down for exactly how many jobs from which particular grants.' That is, the minister was saying there was no estimate of how many jobs would come from the $10 million Small Business Development Fund.

My question is: if it is the minister's position that it is not possible to estimate how many jobs will be generated from the $10 million Small Business Development Fund, how does he explain that it is possible to estimate that there will be 15,000 jobs from the $24 million Northern Economic Plan, which of course includes the $10 million Small Business Development Fund?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (15:09): I thank the honourable member for his question. As usual he comes in here and tells half-truths and conflates different facts, mixes things up in order to suit his own purposes. In order to suit his own purposes, he takes two very different things and tries to put them together, comes out with another thing and then tries to make grandiose claims.

To mix metaphors, he is the boy who cried 'Jumping the shark.' He comes out with this so often that no-one believes him. He comes out with these things nearly every day, so much so that no-one believes a thing he says anymore. A couple of years ago, it was not just people involved in politics but also journalists who were mocking him with the hashtag #TweetLikeRobLucas, when Rob Lucas was blaming people for everything. The lost sock you lose in the washing machine was #TweetLike—

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: Point of order: the question was quite directly about whether the minister had or had not had a conversation with this best mate, the Hon. Martin Hamilton-Smith.

The PRESIDENT: The honourable minister.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: And so we have the often-mocked and derided Hon. Rob Lucas, who is continually put out to ridicule for claiming that everything is going wrong and for claiming that everything has happened when it has not happened. I regularly speak to minister Hamilton-Smith. In fact, I will speak to him nearly every week at cabinet meetings. He sits in cabinet, which is something not a single member of the Liberal Party except for Rob Lucas, who is now in his fourth decade in parliament, has done. It takes someone to be here that long to have a single member of the Liberal team ever having sat in a cabinet room.

I regularly speak to minister Hamilton-Smith about a number of things. In relation to very specific things, I have not spoken to him about the very specific timing of when grants will be open—

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: You said you did!

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: And there we go: he conflates it again, in terms of—I think I answered, in relation to speaking very, very generally—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: —to minister Hamilton-Smith. He is trying to conflate things and mix things up again as he usually does. In relation to—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: In relation to the $10 million—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: In relation to the $10 million grants, we will aim to create as many jobs as possible. We set aspirations of creating jobs in South Australia, which is a far cry from their document that sets out plans for 2036. I noted, even today, on an online forum, the Leader of the Opposition was being mocked for a 2036 target. People did point out that it would be good to have some views now or in the next couple of years, not out to 2036.

Sure, we will look to do what we can now. We will try to create as many jobs as we possibly can and get the biggest bang for our buck with this grant program, which stands in stark contrast to their aims for something to happen in 20 years' time.