Question Time

Key Performance Indicators

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (16:28): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Treasurer a question about key performance indicators.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: In an Advertiser article dated 13 April 2018, Premier Marshall said that he would be setting performance measures centred on economic growth. The Premier is quoted as saying:

We want to have improved outcomes for the people of South Australia, and we'll be measuring that.

In a further media release, dated 20 July 2015, the now Treasurer said that South Australia is careering toward double-digit unemployment. We now see that South Australia's unemployment rate is well below the Treasurer's prediction, falling to 5.6 per cent for the month of March—the third best unemployment figures in the nation—and a recent Deloitte Access Economics report saying that the South Australian economy continues to sprint and may well wrest the title of 'fastest growth in the nation' from the ACT.

My questions to the Treasurer are:

1. What economic indicators is he concentrating on?

2. What KPIs is he setting for them, particularly the unemployment rate?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (16:30): The Premier and myself, as Treasurer, will be, on behalf of the government, outlining a series of key performance indicators in relation to economic performance. Clearly, the more significant economic indicators will be the gross state product. An indicator for that is, obviously, state final demand, which comes out on a quarterly basis, but is not as good an indicator of the growth of the state economy as the GSP figures, which only come out on a 12-monthly basis and are subject, sadly, to much revision by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

This is an issue that I have asked Treasury to provide advice on: as to how, almost 12 months later, the Australian Bureau of Statistics can actually significantly recast the gross state product figures for states like South Australia and massively reduce what they originally estimated the GSP to be. So, GSP will clearly be, in terms of state growth, a key indicator. A key indicator in terms of jobs growth—which was one of the key claims that the Liberal Party made in the period leading up to the election: more jobs, lower costs and better services—will be, obviously, employment growth, both full-time and part-time employment growth. One will need to take into account participation rate, and one will also need to take into account underutilisation.

The Leader of the Opposition has referred to the seasonally adjusted headline figure in terms of the unemployment rate. I would suggest he might also look at the trend figures in terms of unemployment, but also the underutilisation rate. As the leader would understand, unemployment as currently measured by the Bureau of Statistics says that if an individual is employed for one hour, that particular person is counted as employed. If the Leader of the Opposition is not aware, many South Australians probably would take offence at the fact that if they had one hour's employment they are being judged as being employed in accordance with the Bureau of Statistics. So, issues such as underutilisation rate will also be taken into account. That's in relation to more jobs.

In relation to key performance indicators for lower costs, clearly that's relatively easily measured in looking at, for example, the reduction in state taxes, the massive cut the government has already outlined in terms of emergency services levy bills and the challenges that we have in reducing the very high electricity and water costs we have inherited from the former government, and also in a number of other areas. Finally, in relation to better services: that is a challenge but, in relation to education, better services can be measured through independently assessed NAPLAN results. Again, sadly, the performance of the former government over 16 years has seen a very significant decline, in terms of recorded measurements of literacy and numeracy, in progress in our schools in South Australia.

I am sure my colleague the Minister for Health would be able to indicate a range of indicators in the Health portfolio, but certainly waiting lists for elective surgery and a range of other publicly indicated indicators will be a measure of better services. If one looks at more jobs, lower costs and better services, they will be the sorts of performance indicators that the Premier, I and my colleagues will be working through as we lead up to the period of the September budget.