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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-09-04 Daily Xml
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OLYMPIC DAM EXPANSION

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:43): My question is again to the Premier. What services does the Premier intend to reduce or what larger deficit does the Premier intend to deliver in light of the Olympic Dam expansion not proceeding? The budget for the year 2012-13 was brought down just a few weeks ago and it was predicated on the basis of a growth in the economy expected to result from the Olympic Dam expansion proceeding which is now not going to happen. Since then, the Premier has said that he is not going to increase taxes and charges. If the income is lower, then either you have to increase the deficit or reduce the services.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:44): The opposition does seem to be resilient to the idea that the level of economic activity does not translate to a completely one-for-one proposition in relation to a deterioration in the budget. So much should be obvious from the material—

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I didn't say it didn't affect the budget.

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The ministerial statement makes it clear that it is estimated to have an effect in the order of $44 million over the forward estimates, but remember that over the same period—

Mrs Redmond: Economic activity.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Yes, but economic activity does not translate directly into the financial performance of our budget, because we only tax certain things within the economy and the level of economic activity is not positively correlated with all of our taxation.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It's a pretty simple proposition. I would have thought that somebody seeking to advance themselves as an alternative premier might actually be familiar with the way in which the state finances operate.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: Or when the budget was—it wasn't a few weeks ago. May 31st was not a few weeks ago.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: As my learned friend points out, the budget was more than a few weeks ago. We will have a Mid-Year Budget Review. The forecast, which is for a $44 million deterioration, will be something grappled with within the Mid-Year Budget Review, but that is over, of course, the four years of the budget.

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Well, by $44 million, I would have thought is the short answer, but we will need to see the way in which the other incomings and outgoings balance out to see what the net position is because it may well be that there are certain levels of activity that offset that loss of revenue. Those things will be known at the Mid-Year Budget Review. Those opposite are desperate to talk down an economy that is in a strong position and has withstood the economic turbulence—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition will be quiet. I cannot hear the Premier. Order, or you will leave the chamber! Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: There is something ghoulish about the opposition, about the way in which they seize on news which is disappointing for South Australia. I noted earlier when there were some remarks about us falling into some recessionary position—which proved to be wrong when further material came out concerning the economy—that it seems that they are always very pleased to seize upon any news of a negative nature concerning the economy. The truth is that what they do not say is that, in the last state product figures in 2010-11, South Australia grew by 2.4 per cent which was above the national average, so South Australia's economic fundamentals are strong, and so much is obvious from the material that we have produced.

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