Affordable Housing

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (15:06): Supplementary arising from the answer: does the minister agree that the bringing forward of money and the net loss in indexation to be applied to money that is brought forward currently results in a net loss to the SA Housing Authority?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (15:06): I am not sure what the honourable member thinks would be a good alternative—whether the cash just sat in the bank and wasn't actually doing anything. We're actually putting it to good use. We have identified that there is a specific gap in the market for prices in this price bracket, so we are using that cash as working capital.

As you would appreciate, there are a lot of ins and outs. There will be fluctuations in the market, so it's hard to predict exactly where the financial situation is at a particular point in time in the future, because clearly there are properties being sold, properties being developed, money going to being contracted for builds. So there are a lot of ins and outs, and I'm not sure that the honourable member's point is valid.

The PRESIDENT: Final supplementary, Leader of the Opposition.