BankSA State Monitor

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:52): Sadly, I rise to speak about the economic crisis that confronts the state of South Australia, I think best evidenced by the results of the BankSA monitor released today. This BankSA monitor, unlike many others, has monitored business confidence, consumer confidence and economic conditions in South Australia for more than 20 years. It is conducted by a reputable research organisation, currently Sexton research, and commissioned by BankSA.

Put simply, what this research released today indicates is that when asking South Australian consumers, the results show the lowest ever level of confidence about the future, the lowest ever level of state pride, the lowest ever level of mood and the lowest ever level of lifestyle stability. In particular, the key ones are confidence about the future and pride in our state.

When businesses were surveyed the results again showed catastrophic indications: the lowest level of business confidence since August 1998, almost 20 years; the lowest level of confidence about the future recorded in the last five years; the lowest ever level of state pride; and the largest decrease ever recorded in the BankSA monitor.

It is tragic reading and listening. There is much more that could be put on the public record, but I will not. It is certainly available on their website and on the Adelaidenow website, but it is a fair indication of the problems this state confronts after 16 long years of a Labor government in South Australia: the arrogance, the financial mismanagement, the incompetence and the negligence of Premier Weatherill, Treasurer Koutsantonis and their colleagues.

The government's response, sadly, after 16 years—and we have seen it now for the last half a dozen years under Premier Weatherill and Treasurer Koutsantonis—is that if anything moves, they want to whack a new tax on it. We have seen a doubling of the ESL tax in South Australia, we have seen government policy changes that have led to massive increases in water charges, we have seen an attempt to introduce a car park tax in South Australia, we have seen them lobby the federal government to see whether or not there would be support for an increase in GST from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, or failing that, to apply a GST to financial services, which clearly would impact on every customer in the state of South Australia, or in the nation, frankly, if that was to occur.

We have seen them float ideas of the reintroduction of a land tax on the principal place of residence, and in essence they have done that through the backdoor with the changes they have made with the ESL. Now we have seen, in the last two budgets, a taxi tax introduced, an attempt to introduce a foreign investor tax, and now the government endeavouring to introduce a bank tax in South Australia.

The government's response to the sort of economic figures that we see, that is, the highest unemployment rate in the nation and the consumer and business sentiment figures we have seen from the BankSA monitor, is simply to put their hands in the taxpayer's pocket and to indulge in a further spending splurge on taxpayer-funded government advertising campaigns. The Budget and Finance Committee established only last week that the government was prepared to spend $2.6 million on Jay Weatherill's energy plan. They have given up the pretext that this is information provision; it is pure unadulterated party political advertising in the period leading up to an election.

Premier Weatherill fronts television ads, he fronts radio ads, he fronts social media ads. It is a desperate endeavour to put their hands in the pockets of taxpayers to fund what should be a party political advertising campaign. That $2.6 million comes on top of the more than $1 million being spent on the Job Accelerator Grant Scheme, and anyone who watches television at the moment will see a swamping of television and radio advertising at the moment, and half a million dollars spent on the move of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital.

It is no wonder that after 16 years there is such anger in the South Australian community towards Premier Weatherill and Treasurer Koutsantonis. I indicated that after the last election, Labor Party people told me that their own research indicated that Treasurer Koutsantonis was the most disliked politician, Labor or Liberal, in the state in the period leading up to the election. I am further informed that recent market research conducted by the Labor Party has confirmed that Mr Koutsantonis retains that unenviable position. Clearly, after 16 long years it is now time for a change of direction and a change of economic policy, and that will only be achieved by a change in government.