Interstate Migration

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (14:38): My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer please outline to the chamber some details in relation to the interstate migration figures released earlier this week?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:38): I am sure all honourable members were very excited when they saw the headline in The Advertiser highlighting the net interstate migration figures. I am sure the reason for members' excitement is that for 20 or 30 years we have had to endure the ignominy of more people fleeing the state of South Australia in what is colloquially referred to as the 'brain drain', rather than attracting people to come to South Australia.

The figures released this week by the independent Australian Bureau of Statistics show that for the first time in almost 30 years there were more people attracted to South Australia over the last 12-month period than actually left from interstate.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: For example—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order on both sides!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Wortley knows better than to point across the chamber.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! We will move on to the next question.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: That wasn't entirely helpful, Mr President. If I can remind members of—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —the opposition that in their last year, prior to the 2018 election—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —6,000 more people—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —fled South Australia to try to find a job interstate than actually came into South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Six thousand people fled the state—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! We've had a very boisterous week. There will be some good questions. There will be some concise answers, and we will get on and get as many questions as we can today. I call the Treasurer.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: As I said, in the last year of the former Labor government, 6,000 more people fled the state seeking jobs, in particular in the Eastern States, than actually came in. For the first time in 30 years, that has actually—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —been reversed—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —and we now actually have more people coming into South Australia than fleeing South Australia in relation to job prospects.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: People in Australia are acknowledging, firstly, the tremendous record of the South Australian—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I put the opposition on notice that they will lose a question if this continues. The Treasurer will conclude his remarks fairly shortly.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: If I could be heard over the cacophony of sound, Mr President.

The PRESIDENT: Well, I am doing my best; you do yours.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I am doing my best too, Mr President. I am trying to scream now; I am trying to scream. The obvious attractions in South Australia are (a) the highly affordable lifestyle, (b) the wonderful success the South Australian government and the public sector have had in coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, and (c) the tremendous job prospects that people see in defence, shipbuilding, submarines—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —the defence industry, space—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I can't hear the Treasurer.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —and cybersecurity. The important thing is that Hansard is recording all of these wonderful words for posterity.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: It is for those reasons that the terrible record of the former government has been reversed in this last 12-month period.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The leader and the whip are out of order. The next question goes to the Hon. Ms Franks, who will be heard in silence.