Appropriation Bill 2024

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 29 August 2024.)

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO (11:20): I rise today to speak on the Appropriation Bill and indicate that I will be the lead speaker for the opposition on this bill and some of my colleagues will also make contributions. This legislation allows the government of the day to appropriate the funds from which it shapes its future bill. Those details are set out in the budget measures bill.

Many South Australian families are now $25,000 worse off per year compared with when Labor came to government. The cost-of-living relief provided in this budget has been labelled by South Australians as a drop in the ocean, compared with the increased costs South Australians are facing in rising rents and mortgages, increasing electricity bills, essentials and grocery prices. The relief is a dismal effort from this government as South Australians have been facing the pressures of rising costs of living for quite some time now.

Small businesses are also impacted, and there are next to no new measures provided within this budget. We have seen on a regular basis over the past 12 months closures of many South Australian businesses that have been a significant part of our community for many years. Recently, at the annual Royal Adelaide Show this year, whilst ticket sales remained strong thanks to a minimal price increase, the average spending has dropped. Stallholders have said that they have noticed the pressures that families and parents are facing during this cost-of-living crisis. Amongst all of this we note that South Australians are now paying more tax than ever, despite Labor's promise of no new taxes and no tax increases. Talk about rubbing salt into the wounds of hardworking South Australians!

The Treasurer, in speaking to the Appropriation Bill in the other house, described the budget as one that sets the state on the path to a more prosperous future, and it does so while keeping the budget in surplus and debt levels sustainable. I would like the Treasurer to remember that we are heading toward a state debt level of nearly $44 billion by the end of the forward estimates, which means that interest repayments alone will reach more than $5 million per day, noting that the forward estimates does not factor in the total cost of the north-south corridor project and the new Women's and Children's Hospital in full.

I am genuinely concerned, on behalf of South Australians, that this level of debt is described as sustainable by the current Treasurer and government. What is evident is once again the overspending of nearly every government department—a blowout of $824 million across government. Yet, with its massive increase in spending, regional South Australia has been left behind. The government has failed to address the opportunity and concerns of regional South Australians.

Whilst billions of dollars have been poured into the health budget, the ramping crisis is worse than ever. The cries for increased support for regional patients has also fallen on deaf ears. It is evident from this budget that the priorities of this government are not that of South Australian families, South Australian businesses or regional South Australia, whether it is health, the wellbeing of the economy, security of the community, just to name a few. This government has the wrong priorities. The priority of this government is about themselves, not about South Australians.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (11:23): I rise to speak on the Appropriation Bill 2024. I will use my time today to ask a simple question: are South Australians better off today than they were two years ago? I think you will find the answer is no. The 2024 state budget can be characterised, I think, as a typical Labor budget. We saw record spending, we saw record debt and we saw record taxes. Almost all their government departments have overblown their budgets, and in typical Labor fashion nothing has improved, despite the record funding they have received from the commonwealth government.

So let's look at some of their track record, and I do want to focus in particular on the efforts, or perhaps lack thereof, in the regions. Let's talk about roads. When I come into the city for parliament, I hear complaints of those who live here about the state of the roads—indeed, around metropolitan Adelaide. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for them, they know nothing of how bad it can actually be.

In the regions, the backlog of maintenance continues to grow under this government, day after day. You do not have to take the opposition's word for it; the RAA has a similar gripe, particularly with this government. Through various surveys, it shows that some 20 per cent of South Australian roads require maintenance. To put that in context, that is some 13,000 kilometres worth of road. That is close to the equivalent of, as the crow flies, from this place, Parliament House on North Terrace, all the way to the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, California. If we want to go more locally, a lap of Australia would be some 15,000 kilometres.

There is more than $2 billion of road maintenance backlog, the bulk of which is in the regions. That amount only seems to be growing under this government, which clearly does not care for the regions or road safety for that matter. Last year, we had the worst year of fatalities on the road since 2010: 117 lives were lost. It is not too long a bow to draw to say the lack of road maintenance contributed to that figure, given that close to 60 per cent were in the regions whereas only some 20 per cent of those people actually live in the regions.

Deaths on country roads are vastly over-represented in those figures. I also would like to make the point that the government does not even know where the regions are because, of the $310.6 million for regional road and transport improvements, $250 million of those funds were for the highway upgrades between Mount Barker and the city. Whilst we do not begrudge the good citizens of Mount Barker infrastructure improvements—goodness knows they need it due to the planning disaster—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: —that Labor's John Rau left when he was planning minister—

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: —that leaves $60 million for the rest of the 24,000 kilometres of state regional roads. It is utterly disgraceful.

Moving on to health care: there are few people in this state who have not been affected or know someone affected by cancer. It is an insidious disease and touches the world around all of us in some shape. The treatment for cancer is gruelling and it is made even more so if you have to have a round trip of hours to access it and not have your support networks within immediate reach. You may have heard the cheers from the South-East recently. They were not cheering for this government; instead, they were cheering the announcement that the Liberal government will commit to radiotherapy care in the South-East.

Despite having a minister in this place supposedly from the Limestone Coast, even she was not able to advocate for the South-East to her city-centric Labor colleagues. But the Liberal opposition has listened to the many, many people who signed the petition to bring cancer care closer to home. South Australia is the only state to not deliver radiotherapy services regionally. As the party for the regions, the Liberal Party wants to reduce the barriers to health care for regional patients.

If elected, a Liberal government will commit to the $1.5 million ongoing cost to bring radiation closer to those who need it in the Limestone Coast, a $6 million commitment for the regions. It is really not too much to ask when you are dealing with cancer, I would have thought. As pointed out by my colleagues in the other place, it has been a strange move by the government to throw, as the Premier has said, 'More money than God at the health budget', and yet, perversely, get even worse outcomes.

We all remember the promise by the then Labor opposition to fix ramping, and yet here we are more than two years on and it is more than twice as bad as before. Despite all the spend on the health budget, and the blowout in other departments, there were not the necessary funds for the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme. More than 16,000 people still need to travel to Adelaide to have their healthcare needs taken care of in an easier way that many of our city cousins take for granted—again, outrageous.

I also want to talk about the impact of floods and, in particular, the impact floods had on my home patch, the Riverland, and other communities along the River Murray. These communities feel let down and ignored by the Labor government now that the waters have receded. Recent FOIs show that of the approximately $60-odd million promised for road repair or flood damage, it is my understanding that only $9 million has actually been spent.

This is at a time when the government is refusing to fund repairs of the Lyrup Causeway Road, a road that connects the Sturt Highway, which is a state road, to the Lyrup ferry, which is a state-owned asset. That road is absolutely critical for the connectivity of our region that is the Riverland. This road should absolutely fall under eligibility for 100 per cent funding from the Disaster Relief Fund but, according to this state government, it does not. We are still yet to see any substantial work on the remediation of the Lower Murray Reclaimed Irrigation Area, despite coming up to the two-year anniversary of the flood event.

By and large, this government is wonderful at media opportunities and announcements, but continuously falls significantly short when it comes to actual tangible outcomes. They are all talk and spin without any action.

In another attack against farmers, who just want to farm, there was barely any mention in the budget for anything agricultural except for the pet project of the minister in this place, net zero agriculture. Farmers are the custodians of their land. They are getting life out of the ground to feed our communities. The state budget announced $24.4 million over five years to reduce agricultural emissions through supporting the upskilling of the sector to take up low-emission intensity farming systems.

I will make the point that there are almost 12,000 farming families in South Australia, as well as 33,000 people employed in farm jobs, as research by the Australian Productivity Commission found. Without any mention of what 'upskilling of the sector to take up low-emission intensity farming systems' actually means, we will wait and see if the $24 million to support 12,000 farming families and the 33,000 farming jobs is sufficient, but on their track record of funding initiatives for the sector—like the sheep and goat eID—I am certainly not holding my breath that that will be the case.

Australian farmers are already farming at low-emission intensity. A report from the CSIRO found that the Australian grain industry exhibits low greenhouse gas emissions for each tonne of grain produced when compared to other grain-producing regions and countries, including the EU, the US, Canada, Russia and Ukraine. The report by the CSIRO, which was commissioned by GRDC, also found reducing overall net emissions of the Australian grains industry by 2030 is unlikely to be achieved without decreasing Australian production. Any reduction in Australian grain production is likely to result in an increase in grain production in regions of the world that are not able to achieve low-emission intensity, defeating the purpose, harming the environment more, and only increasing global grains emissions.

As I said earlier, we will wait to see what 'net zero agriculture' means to this minister and to this government, but I can tell this chamber now that the farmers I meet are doing their very best as custodians of the land, and we will support them in any fight against even more green and red tape from this government.

I return to the question I asked at the top of my contribution: are South Australians better off under this government than they were two years ago? As you can see, the answer to my question is no. Those of us who actually live and participate in life in the regions know that those outside the city borders are doing it toughest. As we have heard, there is only more regulation, more green tape and more government coming for those on the farm, and it is an absolutely terrible shame.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Girolamo, don't be hooked on his fishing expedition, please. Just ignore him.

The Hon. B.R. HOOD (11:34): I rise to add some brief remarks on one aspect of the Appropriation Bill 2024 as it relates to my shadow portfolios, and that is the Malinauskas government's capitulation to the Albanese government when it comes to regional road funding.

Previously, regional road funding had followed the general practice of an 80:20 split between the commonwealth and state or territory governments, although I understand that this arrangement was never formally mandated. It provided a fair balance, ensuring the commonwealth shouldered the larger burden of maintaining and upgrading vital road infrastructure in the regions. Now, however, while the new agreement does not explicitly mandate a fifty-fifty split, that is the message premiers across the country are receiving, considering the responses from the premiers of New South Wales and Victoria.

This Premier here ought to take a leaf out of the book of the Eastern States premiers, who have had the courage to stand up to their federal Labor mates and say, 'No effing way' are they signing up to this dud deal. That is a quote, by the way, from a senior New South Wales government source. I ask: where is our Premier or our notoriously foul-mouthed transport minister when we need them?

Instead, it seems the commonwealth expects the states to significantly increase their contribution to regional roads despite ongoing pressure on state budgets. This shift effectively throws the previous balance to the kerb, quite literally, and leaves states, including South Australia, to scramble for more funding to cover the growing backlog of road maintenance and upgrades in our regional areas. If we think it was hard enough to find 20 per cent of the split, it is going to be a hell of a lot harder to find 50 per cent.

This means that to overcome our state's $2 billion and growing backlog of road maintenance the state government must come up with even more funding than the paltry amount they have already been committed to, and we know that this year's state budget cruelly cut $172 million for the regional roads and transport projects of the capital program.

Of the $310 million in new funding for regional roads, the vast majority, as my honourable colleague Nicola Centofanti put, $250 million worth, will actually go to upgrades of the South Eastern Freeway between Mount Barker and the city. I have been on the record saying how much I love Mount Barker, but to take that money from regional roads I do not think is right.

Combined, these Labor government actions completely disregard the needs of our regional communities, primary industries and freight sectors that rely on our extensive road network. Locals are fed up with roads that are not car worthy when they are doing their bit to ensure their cars are roadworthy.

The Liberal opposition's Report Your Road campaign is continuing to shed light on just how bad some of our regional roads are, and I want to take this opportunity to thank the more than 400 people who have contributed to that campaign.

Take my recent community forum on the Southern Ports Highway as an example of a community that is simply fed up. This forum, which was attended by the Hon. Nicola Centofanti, Vincent Tarzia, Tony Pasin and the Independent member for MacKillop, Nick McBride, heard firsthand from over 80 people just how bad this stretch of road is.

Because of the endless potholes, the road hazards and the lack of shoulders we have ambulances restricted to driving less than 80 km/h an hour and literally having to hang on for dear life instead of providing treatment to a passenger in that ambulance. We also have residents at Millicent's Boneham aged-care facility choosing no longer to use the Southern Ports Highway for wheelchair-bound residents because they just bounce around too much, causing them pain.

For the Malinauskas government to give in to their federal Labor mates and deliver this dud fifty-fifty deal leaves no confidence that our regional communities will have their urgent road maintenance addressed. Just last week, Victorian Premier, Jacinta Allan, said, and I quote, 'We will absolutely continue to push and demand a fairer share of infrastructure funding for Victorians.' Why is not Premier Malinauskas or Minister Koutsantonis echoing the calls of New South Wales Premier, Chris Minns, Mr Malinauskas's great mate—they go for runs in Sydney—who said last week, and I quote:

…notwithstanding the political persuasion of the federal government, my job is to defend the interests of NSW, and that's exactly what my cabinet and I will do.

Instead, all we have got from our Premier for bread and circuses is a meek and timid response that there should be more capacity for the commonwealth to offer more than fifty-fifty.

Federally, since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese won office, we have seen $27.9 billion worth of infrastructure projects that have either been cancelled, cut or delayed. What confidence can we have in our Labor state government to stump up the significant amount of extra funding required to bridge the gap then?

As the member for Barker has noted, it underspends by $2.9 million in its blackspot funding allocation. Important projects like the Truro freight route and the Hahndorf access upgrades remain unfunded after the federal government's so-called 90-day infrastructure review axed these priority projects. We need full duplication of the Augusta, Dukes and Sturt highways. We need to see a commitment for the Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass. Without the substantially higher revenue base of the likes of the Eastern States and Western Australia, how are we supposed to build this productivity enhancing infrastructure, let alone address our immense maintenance backlog?

It is clear that Premier Peter Malinauskas has rolled over to his federal mates and is unwilling to stand up for our vital road infrastructure needs. As the newly appointed shadow minister for infrastructure and transport, regional roads and government accountability, I look forward to promoting the important projects that our state needs and holding a blowtorch to this Labor state government to ensure they are delivering for all South Australians. Our regional roads are falling apart and we have been sold out.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (11:40): I rise to speak briefly on the Appropriation Bill. As is often the case when it comes to—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I cannot hear the Hon. Mr Simms.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: —these discussions about budgets and appropriation, they are often defined more by what is missing and my big concern around what we have seen from the Labor government to date is that they are not doing enough to tackle the cost-of-living crisis that is gripping our state. There is not enough of a focus on building more public housing and building more social housing.

I had an opportunity to go along to the announcement of the Housing Roadmap a few months ago. The launch of that event was organised in conjunction with the Property Council. When I saw the details of the announcement, I realised why: because developers are getting a free kick and there is no new funding other than what had already been announced for more social housing to get the housing crisis under control.

That is not acceptable when one considers we have about 16,000 people on the social housing waitlist—16,000 people who are desperate for a roof over their head and a place to call home. Meanwhile, Labor is delivering a surplus—delivering a surplus while we have people sleeping on the street. There is something very wrong about the priorities of this government in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.

The Liberals have talked a lot about roads. Well, what about public transport? Once again, we are not seeing the appropriate investment in public transport in the regions or in metropolitan South Australia. While other states are making public transport free to reduce the cost that families are facing at the bowser and to reduce the effects of climate change, in South Australia we are actually seeing public transport prices going up and, again, that is in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and in the middle of a climate crisis.

Where also is the leadership in terms of addressing the imbalances that exist in our housing market? Where is the action on rent prices? Why did Labor not come out and back the Greens' push for a rent freeze for two years to stop rent prices from going up and up and up? Why have Labor not taken action on vacant properties, as has happened in other states around the country? Where is the leadership on that? Why are they not taking action on Airbnbs? These things are starving our state of the vital housing we need.

Where is the leadership from Labor on energy prices? Why will they not support the Greens' push for a commission of inquiry into bringing back ETSA and ensuring that we have electricity that is owned by the people of South Australia and operates for the benefit of the people of South Australia? Low cost, publicly owned renewable electricity—we can do it if there is the political leadership from the government to make it happen.

I do not want to let the opposition off the hook, though, because it is clear that they have no vision to deal with the cost-of-living crisis in our state and no plan to actually reorient the economy here to ensure that it works for people. I heard the Leader of the Opposition in one of his first interviews. He was at the Royal Adelaide Show last week being interviewed by David Bevan. He was asked about what he would do to get the health system back under control. He was asked quite directly, 'Would you support new taxes? What new revenue measures would you back?' 'Oh, no. No new taxes.' 'What about debt? Would you take on more debt?' 'Oh, no. No debt.' 'Well, what about cutting public services?' 'Oh, no, we're not cutting any public services, and we're not going to be stopping any government projects.'

The question is: what would they do differently? I note that the opposition leader was at the Show. Perhaps he was looking for the recipe for a magic pudding, because that is the only way that the Liberal Party can make good on their promises, given they are not going to increase revenue and they are not going to cut services. Really, they are found wanting when it comes to a vision for the people of South Australia and a vision for the state budget.

Lucky the Greens are here to raise these issues—and we will continue. I note the attacks on me in the other place by Jack Batty, the member for Bragg, where he has slightly misrepresented some of the policy positions the Greens have taken, but at least we are putting forward ideas that are costed and can be done if there is the political will to do so, rather than promoting the ludicrous magic pudding economics of the Liberal opposition.

The Hon. T.T. NGO (11:46): I rise to speak on the Appropriation Bill 2024, a bill that reflects the Labor Malinauskas government's priorities that will benefit us all. First and foremost, the health and wellbeing of South Australians remain a number one focus of this government. We know that a range of factors and complexities can impact on a person's health and wellbeing. In fact, when it comes to our wellbeing, health and housing are interdependent. We need both to live fulfilling, stable and productive lives. Labor knows there is much to do in both of these sectors.

As we continue to increase the number of beds and tackle ramping, we are also responding to constant changing demands. In August 2024, there were 129 more long stay patients in hospitals compared to August 2023. This year there were also 10 per cent more ambulance patients taken to hospital, 7.8 per cent more calls to 000, 7.3 per cent more drug and alcohol related emergency department presentations and 6.2 per cent more patients in hospital beds every night, compared to August 2023.

Labor continues to implement a solution to fix the complexity of problems and issues in our health sector. Since 2022, Labor has recruited 691 extra nurses, 329 extra doctors, 219 extra ambos and 193 extra allied health workers. This total of 1,432 additional health workers will support our commitment to open more beds right across the system.

This budget delivers an additional 56 extra beds on top of the 550 we have already committed to deliver. It provides $30 million for these extra 56 beds, which will be spread across The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Lyell McEwin Hospital. In addition, $13.7 million will create 36 extra beds at The QEH, adding to the 52 new beds opening soon in the newly built clinical services building. Work is also underway on a 24-bed mental health unit at The QEH.

This budget also commits $16.5 million to build another 20 extra beds at the Lyell McEwin in addition to the 48 new beds currently being constructed. Over four years, a $17.1 million investment will expand clinical dialysis services in our northern metro area. This bill will allocate $24 million to build three new ambulance stations at Marion, Two Wells and Whyalla, bringing the total number of new or rebuilt ambulance sites to 15 across the state that this Labor government has delivered.

To ensure South Australians can get health advice or immediate access to medication, Labor has opened three 24-hour pharmacies. Across the three 24-hour pharmacies now open, 20,683 scripts and 3,382 phone calls from people seeking pharmacist advice have been recorded during the additional hours.

Previous data showed that around 9,000 people presented at hospital emergency departments each year with urinary conditions. Since March 2024, more than 3,450 pharmacy services have been provided to South Australian women aged 18 to 65 concerning urinary tract infections alone. Since July, records show that more than 50,000 South Australians have sought advice from a pharmacist and, where appropriate, a short course of treatment or referral for medical review.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of what Labor is delivering in health, nor are they quick fixes. This Labor Malinauskas government has delivered a massive $7.1 billion in additional funding for our health system since being in government. Labor's solutions are multi-focused and the benefits they bring will have a ripple effect on the health system in the long-term.

This bill also offers more solutions to help fix our housing crisis. As we know, our health and having a home are basic needs that are crucial to the wellbeing and societal prosperity of all South Australians. Labor knows that building more affordable houses is essential and that it is the only way to improve the situation.

Already, as part of our Better Housing Future program, we have delivered rental reforms to address housing insecurity. This includes making more people eligible for the private rental scheme, which saves people on low incomes thousands of dollars in up-front costs, including bond and rent, by providing bond guarantees and rent payments.

We have already released, purchased or rezoned land that will deliver nearly 28,000 homes over the next few years. This includes 10,000 homes at Concordia and Dry Creek, 2,000 at Hackham, 1,700 at Sellicks Beach, 800 at Aldinga, 600 at Noarlunga Downs and 500 at Golden Grove. The 2024-25 state budget includes $576 million to deliver two major housing developments in Adelaide's western and southern suburbs, and $425 million will redevelop 36.4 hectares at Seaton for the construction of around 1,315 homes, comprising 865 houses and townhouses, and 450 apartments. At least 15 per cent of these will be affordable housing and 30 per cent will be social housing.

A further $150 million has been allocated to develop two vacant sites at Port Noarlunga and Noarlunga Downs. Labor will deliver at least 626 new homes, including 18 new SA Housing Authority homes; 15 per cent will be affordable housing, including a mix of townhouses and apartments, with a minimum of 12.5 per cent new public open space. This budget delivers, in total, more than 1,900 homes for South Australians.

The South Australian government has received more than $135 million from the commonwealth for additional social housing in South Australia from the $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator. As part of the Seaton Renewal Project, a $12.6 million project funded through this, there is a proposed five-storey public housing development offering 22 two-bedroom apartments.

In addition to building a historic amount of affordable and social housing, this government has introduced legislation to make purchasing a home a reality for more South Australians. In last year's budget we removed stamp duty for properties valued at $650,000 and for land up to $400,000. However, this bill totally abolishes the property value threshold. If the contract was entered into after 6 June 2024 no stamp duty will be payable when an eligible first-home buyer purchases a house, flat, unit, townhouse, apartment or vacant land to build a home. In addition to this, the cap for the First Home Owner Grant has been increased to $650,000.

More good news is that the state government's HomeStart has made it possible for those unable to get loans from traditional banks to obtain finance to purchase a home. In 2023-24 $1.25 billion worth of loans were settled, the highest level of lending since 2006. Further, the 2024 South Australian government's Housing Roadmap, and the establishment of the new Department for Housing and Urban Development, is enabling this government to fast-track land release and create more homes for more South Australians.

This government knows that South Australians are not only struggling with housing but also with increases in the cost of living. To offer more help we have doubled the Cost of Living Concession, delivered free public transport every day of the year to our seniors, and reduced the school materials fee by $100 for government school students. Assistance to purchase laptops and subsidised home internet for students in need has also been delivered to families doing it tough. Breakfast programs will also be made available in more schools this year following the $6.5 million boost from Labor over four years.

The only way to build a more inclusive and compassionate society is by addressing social inequalities. This is what Labor is doing. This 2024-25 budget will ensure continued support is given to our vulnerable communities, including the elderly, people with a disability, and those experiencing homelessness.

Labor has always known that education is the cornerstone of a society, and this Appropriation Bill does many things for South Australian children and students, reflecting Labor's unwavering and longstanding commitment to providing quality education from early childhood through to vocational education and tertiary study.

In regard to our sporting community and multicultural organisations, I want to mention that I have received great feedback from many organisations about the positive impacts this government's grant programs are having in the community. The Stronger Together, Celebrate Together, and the infrastructure grants, Expand Together, have all assisted our community organisations not only to address the immediate needs but to also foster sustainability and community wellbeing. Earlier this year, I was delighted to be part of a celebration dinner at the San Giorgio community hall in Payneham and witness the local Italian community's appreciation for securing funding through the Expand Together infrastructure grants.

The Labor Malinauskas government knows that it must be bold and progressive in this rapidly changing world. I am proud to be part of a government that is a world leader in renewable energy and wants to contribute to a decarbonised world. Recent landmark legislation gives us a comprehensive framework for the development of hydrogen and renewable energy projects in South Australia. The act streamlines processes for large-scale energy projects, ensuring coordinated land access, environmental considerations, and community consultation. We are also working to collaborate and attract investment with other nations who have knowledge and technology in this sector.

In closing, I acknowledge the strength of the South Australian economy. Economic indicators show that South Australia is one of the best performing states in terms of import and export markets and overall business confidence. Last week, South Australia was issued a credit rating of AA+ which is a positive indicator of our overall economy.

This budget is enabling the Labor Malinauskas government to help as many South Australians as possible to access quality health care and to find a home or somewhere to stay in the short term. The 2024-25 budget also fosters economic development and job creation, including initiatives to boost regional economies and Indigenous communities. This bill shows a brighter and more prosperous future for us all, and I commend it to this chamber.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (12:02): I would like to thank all members for their speeches and contributions on this piece of legislation, 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) (12:05): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.