Supply Bill 2024

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 16 May 2024.)

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO (17:13): This week was meant to be somewhat the crowning glory for this government after coming back into power just over two years ago, but we on this side have not forgotten what their key promise was in the lead-up to the election: their promise that was on every Stobie pole in this state that they would fix the ramping crisis. Two years ago we were told to trust the then shadow health minister, Chris Picton, and to trust the then opposition leader, Peter Malinauskas, when they were spruiking that they would fix the ramping crisis. 'Trust us,' they said.

There was no asterisk, no fine print. They will seek to continually blame the opposition, but we know that this government has failed at every turn when it comes to health. They continue to blame the opposition, when we were there for four years while they have been there for the past 22 years. This health system is an absolute disaster, and it is thanks to Peter Malinauskas and Chris Picton. South Australians deserve better. This is completely unacceptable.

We are now sitting at a time when ramping is at an all-time high, three times worse than at any point under the former Liberal government. Not only do we have the health crisis in play, we also have the cost-of-living crisis and the cost of doing business. The community is hurting, and the cost-of-living crisis is biting. Adelaide has the highest inflation cost of all capital cities and if there is one hope I have of the upcoming budget it is that it is not as inflationary as last year's budget was found to have been.

Indeed, the federal budget, handed down just a few weeks ago, is without a doubt an inflationary budget, where Jim-flation, which is now part of every South Australian's vocabulary, continues to spend recklessly and not protect South Australians. We know that the average South Australian household is more than $20,000 worse off than two years ago, when the government was elected. This is breaking many families. This is causing many businesses to close, and it is completely unacceptable.

The opposition has recently put forth some good practical policies that the government could definitely take on board to help ease the cost-of-living crisis. In recent weeks, we called for a freeze on ESL bills. The former Liberal government had great reforms in the way of ESL bills, which had been turned into a cash grab by the Labor government and former Treasurer Koutsantonis. They had imposed this on households, and instead we as a government turned it into a savings of $90 million, returned into the hands of South Australians, which was around $150 in the first year.

We all know that South Australia is a small business state. According to the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, as of June 2023 there were some 155,000 small businesses across South Australia, which represents 6 per cent of all Australian small businesses. Owners and staff of small businesses in South Australia deserve more attention than they are currently getting from this government. With the bracket creep of wages constantly increasing, more and more businesses are falling into the unforeseen clutches of Treasury and being captured by payroll tax.

The opposition has released a number of policies that would assist small businesses and also go some way to addressing the lack of apprentices and trainees, which is extremely important in the lead-up to AUKUS. Our reforms to lift the threshold from $1.5 million to $2.1 million would see us becoming a more competitive state to do business. Exempting wages on apprentices and trainees would help more businesses to be willing to take on that extra apprentice, to take on that trainee, without the cumbersome burden of payroll tax on those wages. We want to see reforms in this state, as does the SA Business Chamber. This is a must for this government, and I hope to see reforms in this on Thursday, but I am not holding my breath.

We are also in a housing crisis. Housing needs to be addressed and whilst the threshold being removed is welcome it is shameful, because we have wasted a whole year in which as of March only 1,100 individuals had been able to get the stamp duty concession due to the restrictions of the government's agenda. As an opposition, we would like to see the introduction of reducing stamp duty on existing houses of $10,000. Unfortunately, it is very disappointing to see that nothing around this has been announced as yet.

The housing development in Seaton, as we learned this morning, was announced by Premier Marshall and planning minister Lensink three years ago. This government has sat on their hands and allowed a crisis to brew on their watch since their coming in, and nothing has been done amidst a housing crisis. This needs to be fixed. This is a must and it must happen now. Red tape must be cut to allow housing developments to occur efficiently and on a timely basis. At this stage, building an average house can take upwards of two years to happen. That is unacceptable. We need to see more action in this space.

Despite all the government's promises, South Australians are paying more for fees and charges, more for payroll tax, more for stamp duty and more for land tax. This is unacceptable. The Labor Party is continuing to benefit from excessive taxes coming in and South Australians paying for this. At this stage we do not know how much our SA Water bills will increase, but I expect it to be significant.

An honourable member: Absolutely.

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO: Absolutely significant. It is not all about sports games and roses in the state of South Australia. Many in our community are suffering through a housing crisis, a cost-of-living crisis and the broken promise of ramping being fixed. The budget this week is the government's opportunity to address some of the many issues our community, and especially our small businesses, are facing in this state.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (17:20): I rise today to speak on the Supply Bill before us, emphasising that it is critically important in ensuring the continued operation of government. The Supply Bill is vital for enabling the government to access necessary funds until the formal budget is presented through the Appropriation Bill. This convention of supporting the Supply Bill is one that we in the opposition staunchly uphold; however, in doing so, it is incumbent upon us to highlight the significant mismanagement by the current Labor state government.

I think the general public are starting to wake up to the fact that the Malinauskas government, and indeed the Premier himself, lied their way into government by promising to fix ramping. Yet here we are with an absolute disaster on our hands, with the worst ramping statistics in history announced on the weekend and elective surgeries cancelled. The mob opposite, in true Labor style, are all talk and absolutely no action. They promise the world but deliver nothing: zip, zero, zilch, as the Leader of the Government often likes to say. They have delivered nothing in the way of fixing ramping, they have delivered nothing for small and family businesses and they have delivered absolutely nothing for regional communities across this state.

Today, as shadow minister for the regions and also shadow minister for primary industries, I particularly want to touch on what is missing and what has been ignored in regional South Australia by this state government. When we had Liberal governments at both the state and federal levels regional road maintenance was a top priority. Unfortunately, under the current Labor governments, both state and federal, we are witnessing a roll back of these crucial investments. This neglect has resulted in a staggering $2 billion to $2½ billion backlog in road maintenance. The Truro freight route project, once a beacon of promise and hope, has now been abandoned by both state and federal Labor administrations.

Additionally, several vital infrastructure projects, including bridges, roads and wharfs that suffered damage during the 2022-23 River Murray floods, are being deliberately ignored by this government. Despite the Premier jetting in and out of Renmark during the flood, being the hero, standing on a levee and promising to 'build back better', these crucial pieces of infrastructure remain unfunded.

It appears that, now the media have long gone, the state government and the Premier have forgotten these communities, neglected their needs and abandoned the mantra of infrastructure betterment. These communities are struggling to find the support needed from both state and federal governments to even simply repair vital roads and infrastructure, let alone build back better. In the words of the CEO of Berri Barmera Council, we just want to build back. It is an absolute embarrassment for this Labor government, and the Premier should hang his head in shame.

Let's talk about regional health. South Australia's regional healthcare system is in a dire state due to the severe lack of investment and care from this government. This neglect is literally costing lives in our country communities. Our regional hospitals and healthcare services are crying out for support, yet their pleas seem to fall on deaf ears in this government.

We are now also facing a profound cost-of-living crisis. Labor's rigid adherence to 100 per cent renewables and their failure to consider nuclear as a long-term vital solution for base load power are driving up energy costs for businesses and households across this state. This approach is ideologically based, it is certainly not pragmatic and it fails to consider the immediate economic pressures faced by everyday South Australians.

The primary production sector, the backbone of our state's economy, is also struggling. The cost of doing business and compliance is skyrocketing, and there is a persistent difficulty in securing both skilled and unskilled labour. This sector is crucial for our economy, yet it is being stifled by not just a lack of confidence but by a deliberate ideological agenda that is being thrust upon the sector stemming from Malinauskas government policies. Whether we are talking about fishing, aquaculture, agriculture or horticulture, there is nothing that the public and, indeed, industry stakeholders are currently comforted by.

We have seen promised reforms, aimed at increasing the profitability of fishing businesses, ensuring sustainable fish populations and enhancing recreational fishing opportunities, falling woefully short under the current primary industries minister. These fishers were assured that compliance costs would decrease as the number of individual fishing businesses declined and that red tape would be significantly reduced, yet nearly three years later the reality is starkly different.

The lack of leadership by the minister on her own government's mandated sheep and goat electronic identification rollout has left producers in the dark with regard to future investment, and now her refusal to stand with them in their fight to maintain market access in the wake of the federal Labor government's ban on live sheep exports shows a lack of commitment to her portfolio.

The minister's refusal to consider an independent review of her department's processes and procedures regarding the fruit fly response is disgraceful. Maintaining public confidence in this program is absolutely critical and, by rejecting an independent review of her department's actions, the minister is severely undermining that confidence.

The silence from the Malinauskas government regarding any tangible and material support for the hundreds of growers around this state who are in desperate need to transition away from wine production has been deafening. The indifference that this government has towards any meaningful advocacy on behalf of the wine industry to their federal colleagues is a disgrace and must be called out.

We have draft animal welfare laws that have the potential to create an environment where primary production is further crippled. Ambiguous language, subjective in nature, creates incredible uncertainty within industry. This is something our farmers cannot afford given the already trying conditions they find themselves in, not just from Mother Nature but because of poor policy from state and federal Labor governments.

This current government's policy around water is one we should all take note of, and I know it is one that regional communities are taking note of right around the state. Whether we are talking about the government's refusal to take seriously local community concerns about site selection on future desalination plants; or their support of mass buybacks of water, which will rip productivity and food production out of river communities here in South Australian and which will have long-lasting negative ripple effects throughout these communities; or their intention to, where water resources are already fully allocated, acquire water rights for ownership by First Nations people for not cultural but economic purposes: these are all policy issues that will affect the budget and that this government have committed to and are progressing, which many people across this state have the right to be, and are, concerned about.

The regions of South Australia and their businesses are the lifeblood of our state's economy. They deserve recognition, they deserve respect and they deserve robust support in this government's budget. It is essential that the government's budget reflects this reality and allocates the necessary resources to support our regions effectively. To put it simply, primary industries and the regions expect their fair share in the upcoming budget. They are not asking for much. They are asking for adequate health services; equity across the education system; heaven forbid, safe roads that are maintained—

The Hon. B.R. Hood: Public transport.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: —and public transport, and for government to get out of their way and allow them to do what they do best; that is, produce food, fibre and other goods for the benefits of all South Australians. I urge this government to listen and deliver in this year's state budget. Sadly, I expect that that will not be the case, but as Martin Luther King Jr once said, 'We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.'

In conclusion, while we support the Supply Bill to ensure the continuity of government operations, we must also hold the current administration accountable for its shortcomings and it has a lot of shortcomings. We urge the government to prioritise the needs of our regional communities, invest in crucial infrastructure and support the primary production sector to restore confidence and stability in South Australia's future.

The Hon. B.R. HOOD (17:30): I welcome this opportunity to briefly address the Supply Bill 2024 and make some comments that relate to funding opportunities in the Limestone Coast. I acknowledge the tremendous job that the Hon. Nicola Centofanti did just then in laying out the case for what our regions actually need: not just lip service, visits and selfies but actual funding would be nice.

We can only hope that the Malinauskas government is not taking their cues from their federal counterparts, who have entirely neglected the South-East in their recent budget and Growing Regions fund's round 1. Vital projects failed to gain federal government support and they include:

the Mount Gambier Districts Livestock Exchange, the transformational project of the Mount Gambier saleyards;

Don Moseley Park upgrades at Keith;

the Ryder-Cheshire project in Mount Gambier; and

the Bordertown speedway clubrooms.

All are off the table.

While my federal colleagues are right to criticise the Albanese government on their failure to deliver for our regions, this does not mean letting our state government off the hook. Premier Peter Malinauskas and the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Clare Scriven, have proven that they either have no power or no interest in convincing their federal colleagues of the need to secure funds for the vital projects that I just listed. The disappointment felt by those in my community is palpable. South-East residents, business owners, NGOs and local governments are all raising significant concerns about Labor's neglect of our region.

Projects like the Mount Gambier saleyards upgrade would be, as the name suggests, transformational for the region and it has tremendous potential for the region's prosperities. Significant work was undertaken by the District Council of Grant, the saleyards' strategy committee and stakeholders over four years to put this project together, with council increasing their financial contribution to $4.3 million to help it get across the line.

The saleyard strategy committee presiding member described the $14 million project as critical for future agricultural growth and development in the region. The economic impact of the construction period alone is anticipated to generate almost $29 million, with over $9 million of value add and it would create 63 local jobs per year.

Understandably, when the District Council of Grant was notified that they were unsuccessful in the Growing Regions fund, the news was met with deep disappointment. I certainly hope that the state government will keep their commitment to contribute $2.7 million to the upgrade and that they will lift their efforts in lobbying the Albanese government on the necessity for this project to proceed.

There was one positive aspect in the federal budget that relates to the Limestone Coast and that was only by sheer miracle of course, which was that the $4.3 million allocated to establish a radiotherapy service remains on the books. The former federal Liberal government allocated this money to establish radiation treatment in Mount Gambier, but it is being held up by the state health minister, Chris Picton, due to the commissioning of the feasibility study. That feasibility study is only a week or two away and I am really looking forward to seeing what it says.

I hope against hope that the Malinauskas government has some money in their budget this year for radiotherapy services in the Limestone Coast. God knows we need it and the 16,000 residents in the Limestone Coast who called for it via petition would certainly want to see that money being invested in our region. It is that important. It is that vital.

Another aspect of our regional health service that I sincerely hope is provided for in the 2024-25 state budget is an ongoing commitment to fund in-home hospice care. This confidential, free of charge inclusive and accessible community service was established in 2020, with $140,000 funding from the former state Liberal government's palliative care grants program. It is a sorely needed program that plugs a significant gap in palliative care services in the South-East which, until its establishment, was only available Monday to Friday, nine to five—kind of like our public transport system in Mount Gambier, but I will get to that.

While limited in-home care services are available for free, in-home hospice care is a free service run entirely by volunteers, save for part-time administration staff, and it literally runs on the smell of an oily rag. The current state government previously provided $70,000 to keep the organisation up and running, and I really hope that in this budget we see going forward that there will be that bare minimum of around $70,000 they require to remain viable. It is such an important service for our region, and I sincerely hope that the Malinauskas government ensures the future of it with this very small amount of ongoing funding they need.

Unfortunately, South Australians also have the right to feel disappointed when it comes to the government's lack of investment in transport in the regions, whether it is Mount Gambier's vastly inadequate public bus service that runs nine to five, Monday to Friday, or the severely limited public transport system in towns like Millicent, for example. This government is failing to deliver for our regions, especially for our most vulnerable residents.

The Hon. R.A. Simms: They are not interested in public transport.

The Hon. B.R. HOOD: Not interested in public transport.

The Hon. R.A. Simms: The minister won't even call me back.

The Hon. B.R. HOOD: No, he won't. He won't call me back. Take Mount Gambier's Hallmont Estate Residents Association, which has been forced to fundraise for a minibus for themselves to drive residents to appointments and activities.

The Hon. R.A. Simms: That's shameful.

The Hon. B.R. HOOD: It is absolutely shameful. In Naracoorte, there are no accessible vehicles available at all in the town, restricting those with mobility issues from getting around.

Public transport in the regions is something we need. We do not need this government signing an eight-year contract for public transport in Mount Gambier, only then to decide, 'Well, let's do a review,' and only then to do a review and find out, 'You know what? We're hamstrung anyway. We can't do anything about it.' It is very, very disappointing from the state government, and I am not holding my breath to see anything change in this state budget.

I will end on a bit of pre-budget good news, which has just been released in the education portfolio, which I hope is a positive sign of things to come. Mount Gambier High School is set to receive $6 million to fix a range of maintenance and infrastructure issues, which is a very welcome announcement and I hope will be emulated across the South-East, although I will not hold my breath because, out of the significant amount of money this government is investing in upgrading maintenance issues in schools around South Australia, Mount Gambier is the only regional one, with $6 million.

The Hon. T.A. Franks: Good local member!

The Hon. B.R. HOOD: Yes. But I tell you what, Mount Barker and the northern suburbs will be getting $218 million for all kinds of great schools.

There are significant infrastructure concerns that remain in primary schools, such as Glenburnie, Mulga Street and Mil Lel. I raised these concerns with the minister last year, and they still exist. While I understand that some of the problems at Mulga Street currently are being attended to, there are still serious concerns remaining at Glenburnie and with Mil Lel's transportable buildings, such as leaking roofs, asbestos, flooring and cladding issues.

Our kids are our future, and that does not stop in the metro area. Our regional kids are also our future, but unfortunately they are being taught in the same kind of buildings that their mums and dads were also taught in. We are stuck in the eighties and nineties in the regions, and we need better investment in our schools. These are but a few issues I hope will be addressed in the upcoming state budget. I look forward to digesting it in full on Thursday, and, as we do, I commend the Supply Bill to the chamber.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (17:38): I, too, rise to speak to the Supply Bill, which of course the opposition will be supporting, given that its passage is fundamental in enabling the functions of government to continue in the period between the Appropriation Bill being introduced and its being passed at the start of the next financial year.

I take this opportunity briefly to reflect upon the state Labor government's performance over the last 12 months and also address the budget measures the opposition firmly believes should be adopted by the current government in order to achieve the best outcome for all South Australians. In the last year, South Australians have been experiencing ever-increasing cost-of-living pressures of course. We have also seen spikes in crime, a failing health system, with record-breaking ramping, rising costs in doing business and a crippling housing crisis.

Indeed, it has been estimated that the typical South Australian family at the moment is no less than $20,000 worse off per year under the current government and, despite this revelation, the government announced just last month that the cost of basic necessities—such as licence renewals, car registrations and public transport services—are set to increase even further. That is, of course, if you are lucky enough to have one.

What I am hearing out in the community is that expenditure on a handful of sporting events is largely not what the average South Australian wants. I wish to make it clear that the Liberal Party is supportive of these events, and we do not cast aspersions on them—in fact, they have been a good addition to our state—but the problem is that they do not fix the real problems. I am informed that our constituents would much prefer that our funds be managed in a fiscally responsible manner that has a real impact in their ability to keep a roof over their head, food on the table, fuel in their car, etc. I wish to say that whilst these events have no doubt made a significant positive contribution to our tourism for brief times, the reality is that South Australians, whilst enjoying those events, have significant concerns about the things that I have listed.

I think particularly important to the Liberal Party, and that of many South Australians, is the issue of home ownership which really has become a dream for many people and, indeed, an unachievable dream. It was a pleasing development to see the government announce today that it would be axing stamp duty for all first-home buyers who are either building or purchasing a newly built home. However, the Liberals are further calling for a $10,000 reduction on stamp duty for established homes up to the value of $750,000 for first-home buyers, and no doubt members in this chamber would have seen that we released a policy to that effect just last weekend. The Liberals' proposals would certainly be welcomed by many aspiring home owners in our state, and we are most eager to take these policies to the next election.

To support struggling small businesses amidst our skyrocketing cost of living and rising inflation, the Liberal opposition is calling on the state government to increase the payroll tax threshold from $1.5 million to $2.1 million. Payroll tax has a direct and very significant impact on the profitability of small businesses, of course, and every possible measure must be in place to ensure small business owners have the best chance of maintaining the viability of their operations and to encourage the establishment of new businesses that would generate more employment opportunities.

As members are no doubt aware, small businesses comprise no less than 98 per cent of all businesses registered in our state, employing some 300,000 South Australians, which accounts for 40 per cent of the total workforce. We cannot afford to see smaller enterprises with relatively low margins cease to exist when South Australia already suffers the highest level of unemployment in the nation.

In addition to this initiative, the Liberal opposition wants to see the state government address South Australia's skills shortage with payroll tax exemptions for both apprentices and trainees. According to the 2023 Skills Priority List, South Australia is facing skills shortages in over 350 occupations. Further to this, an Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry survey revealed that 75 per cent of businesses indicated that payroll tax was a barrier for young people entering the labour market, and abolishing payroll tax for those undertaking apprenticeships and traineeships would undoubtedly provide the incentive for businesses to take on new employees, which is more vital than ever, particularly as AUKUS draws closer to realisation and activation in our state.

A further measure that the South Australian Liberals are pushing for the government to implement in its forthcoming budget is to place a freeze on the emergency services levy. As members may recall, the former Liberal state government slashed ESL bills by more than half which saved South Australian households more than $360 million over four years. Simple measures such as this are more imperative than ever to help somewhat alleviate financial pressures on our constituents and should be given due consideration by the current Labor government, especially in light of the fact that it has been collecting record tax revenues over the past two years.

Turning to another issue of real significance, that of crime. It is tragic that South Australians are continuing to be subjected to a significant and alarming spike in crime under the watch of this government. Statistics from SAPOL have revealed that over the past 12 months robbery and related offences have gone up by 23 per cent; shop theft has surged by 31 per cent; assaults on police have also risen by 31 per cent, which I find particularly concerning; homicides are up by some 17 per cent; serious assaults resulting in injury have increased by 16 per cent; abduction, harassment and other offences have seen an 18 per cent increase; family and domestic violence and abuse-related offences have risen by 11 per cent; aggravated sexual assault has increased by 8 per cent; and sexual assault is up by 6 per cent. These figures are most alarming.

The severe attrition rate of 5.2 per cent in our police force may be a significant factor to these unacceptable crime levels. Given that the ability for patrols to respond to incidents in a timely manner is critical to maintaining law and order and a visible police presence is necessary to prevent criminal activity and antisocial behaviour within our communities, our police force attrition rate is a real concern.

The South Australian Liberals are therefore urging the state Labor government to introduce incentives to attract new police recruits, not unlike those that have been implemented by the Queensland government. The incentives in Queensland include a number of things, in particular a special cost-of-living allowance in addition to the current recruitment wage, free accommodation for recruits residing at police academies, a $20,000 payment towards relocation costs of interstate and overseas applicants who are serving or recently serving police officers and a further up to $20,000 towards eligible HECS debts for successful police graduates that they recruit. I am aware that these incentives have attracted over 2,000 applicants eager to enter the Queensland police force who are likely to enjoy these benefits—at least some of them, if not all.

New South Wales is also offering police officers interstate the ability to retain their equivalent rank if they move from another state to New South Wales, up to the level of senior constable 6. Should they wish to relocate, South Australia may risk losing not only potential future officers to other jurisdictions but also our more experienced officers who are serving here at the moment. The state government urgently needs to emulate comparable strategies to successfully boost our force so that crime rates decrease and South Australians finally feel safe and secure. This is a most urgent priority.

It is my sincere hope that the state Labor government listens to the pleas of South Australians and includes measures in the budget on Thursday that accurately and adequately reflect their needs in the current very difficult climate in South Australia. The simple fact is that this government is high taxing and high spending, yet despite this South Australia has the highest unemployment level in the nation, rising debt levels, high crime rates (as I have just outlined) and very high energy prices, in addition to high taxes and charges that are pushing businesses to the brink. On top of that, we have a failing health system. It is actually fair to ask: exactly what is going right?

We must not forget the Australian Medical Association's damning report on South Australia's public hospital system that was released recently, which declared that there have been 'few times in history when it has been so worrisome to be a person who may need care in South Australia' and which revealed that wait times for patients presenting to public hospital emergency departments are the longest on record.

In recent days, we learnt that the Labor government was forced to cancel elective surgery following a surge of Code Whites, with no beds available at any metropolitan hospital for five consecutive days. The government went to the election promising to fix our health system, but clearly there is a very, very long way to go.

There is much that this Labor government needs to do to turn our state around, and it should start by delivering on what must now be considered a broken election promise, which was plastered all over South Australia at the last election, to 'fix ramping'. Today's data shows that more than 94,540 hours have been lost to ramping since this government was elected in 2022 compared with 74,991 hours of ramping over the entire four-year term of the former Liberal government. A total of 4,773 hours were lost last month alone, the worst ramping record ever in our state's history. Given ramping statistics are now far worse than they have ever been, you could forgive the good people of SA if they were sceptical about any other promises that may be made in the upcoming budget.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (17:48): I rise to speak to the Supply Bill on behalf of the Greens. In doing so I indicate that the Greens will honour the convention in this place of supporting supply and will, of course, support this bill.

I want to use this opportunity to talk a little bit about some of the issues we would like to see the government focus on in Thursday's budget. I think the number one issue for South Australians at the moment is surely the cost-of-living crisis. That is the water-cooler conversation out in the South Australian community, and I think that is the benchmark against which the Malinauskas government's budget will be measured. People want to see the government taking meaningful action on cost of living. It is a shame that the Hon. Clare Scriven is not in the chamber, because she will be delighted to know that I did make a submission to the government in that regard.

I want to talk a little bit about some of the issues that I flagged in that letter that I wrote to the Treasurer, the Hon. Stephen Mullighan. One of the issues we really want the government to take action on is, of course, rent prices. I have talked a lot in this chamber about spiralling rents, and the concerns that we have around rent prices. Over just the last year, rent prices have soared by 10 to 30 per cent across 92 suburbs.

I do want to acknowledge the leadership of the Malinauskas government in reforming our rental laws last year, and the Greens were pleased to work with the government to make some important changes to rental laws. One of the areas where we could not get the government to take action was on rent prices.

I previously had a bill in this chamber that would have capped rent increases in line with CPI. We could not get support for that—in fact, no other political party was willing to support it—and so I have introduced another bill which would freeze rents for the next two years to provide relief to people who are struggling with skyrocketing rents. I really urge the Malinauskas government to support that, and also to ensure that in this upcoming budget there is provision made for concessions for renters to address some of the cost-of-living pressures they are facing at the moment.

We are also calling for the government to take action on minimum rental standards. We are very concerned that many tenants are living in housing that is expensive to heat and cool and does not meet community expectations. We know, of course, that that results in increased energy bills for people who are already dealing with the rental crisis. We need to ensure that there are standards that keep our homes cool during summer but also warm during the winter months, and we are heading into the winter period at the moment.

We also need the government to take action in terms of building more public housing. I do recognise some of the announcements that the government has made in that regard, but the Greens are concerned that existing public housing tenants are going to be displaced, and that there is not a clear plan in terms of managing what is happening to those tenants during the construction phase.

We also need to see a public builder established, so that we can fast track the maintenance of existing social housing stock. I think all members of the South Australian community were dismayed to hear the news of subcontractors not being paid for their work by private provider Spotless. That is appalling, and the government needs to take real action on that in this budget. Set up a public builder, so that we can fast track the construction of public homes, but also fast track the maintenance work that is long overdue.

I note that the Liberals have spoken a little bit about the housing crisis in their remarks. I am not surprised because it was the Liberal Party that invented the housing crisis in Canberra with the policies of John Howard. The chickens have now come to roost through the exorbitant negative gearing policies, which the Liberal Party ramped up, and the capital gains concessions.

All of these things have overheated the housing market and, of course, they were aided and abetted in that project by the Labor Party here in South Australia that sold off our public housing stock. It has been a bipartisan project that has created the housing crisis, but the Labor Party here have a responsibility to do what they can to fix it, obviously here in South Australia but also over in Canberra, and they need to radically ramp up the investment in public housing.

We need to also see action on education in this budget because many families are already paying exorbitant fees to send their children to public schools, and the Greens have been calling for many years now to scrap public school fees, so that these schools are accessible to everybody. It does seem very unfair that parents are paying quite excessive materials and services charges and other fees, particularly in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. We need to see adequate funding for our hospitals and our public health system. I do recognise that the Malinauskas government was swept to power on a pledge to fix our health system, and they have made some progress but they need to do a lot better. We need to see the implementation of the recommendations of the Ambulance Employees Association, including the provision of specialised transit wards.

We also need to see more GP positions being created, and the Greens have been calling for that: GPs who are focused on free consults for people with a health care card. We also need to see the government scrap ambulance call-out fees. It is really concerning to us that pensioners and concession card holders are being slugged up to $1,200 for a call-out fee for an ambulance if they do not have insurance. That is really concerning because what that means is that someone could be dissuaded from calling an ambulance if they are in a crisis situation and if they need help.

Finally, we need to see some action on public transport, and I do agree with the remarks of the Hon. Ben Hood. We do need to see a focus on regional public transport, and public transport across the board. In Queensland, the state government there have announced recently 50¢ fares for public transport to try to get people onto public transport, recognising that people are facing pressure at the bowser because we know that petrol prices are going up and up. That would be a really good initiative that the state Labor government could implement in this coming budget, to try to get people back onto public transport.

Also, there is a plethora of really good ideas in the report of the Select Committee on Public and Active Transport that was handed down over 12 months ago. If the minister is ever willing to meet with me, I would be happy to talk to him about those ideas. There are some really good opportunities that the Labor government could take up in this budget when it comes to public transport infrastructure if they are willing to make that a priority, recognising that it would reduce some of the cost-of-living pressures that families are under and also do something good for our environment, which we know is desperately needed.

In concluding my remarks, we really hope in the Greens that the government take serious action on the cost-of-living crisis that is gripping our state. I think that is the standard by which the community will measure the success of this next Labor budget, and I really urge them to heed the advice of the Greens and all the community groups that have been calling for support for South Australians who are struggling in the middle of this crisis.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (17:57): I thank all honourable members for their contributions and I look forward to the committee stage.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

Bill taken through committee without amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (17:59): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.