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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-05-15 Daily Xml
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FEDERAL BUDGET

Ms BETTISON (Ramsay) (14:30): Thank you, Madam Speaker.

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms BETTISON: My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer inform the house what impact—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Members on my right, also, I can hear you.

The Hon. J.D. Hill interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister for Health, behave or you will leave the chamber. The member for Ramsay.

Ms BETTISON: My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer inform the house what impact the federal budget will have on South Australia?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Treasurer, Minister for Workers Rehabilitation, Minister for Defence Industries, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:31): I'm happy to take questions on the carbon tax as well.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Last week the federal government released its 2012-13 budget. The budget contained a number of positive announcements for South Australia, including, of course, $214 million for the next design stage of the state's future submarine project; $232.1 million to commence an upgrade for the Goodwood and Torrens rail junctions; $80 million for road safety projects; and $350 million to local councils for the Roads to Recovery program.

The federal budget also included significant tax cuts to help ease the burden of everyday living pressures for low and middle income families. The other major announcement contained in the budget was that GST revenue to the states has significantly reduced. While the fundamentals of South Australia's economy remain strong, this state, like every other state, is faced with soft consumer spending—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: —and an increase in people buying items that are currently not subject to GST. Compared to last year's budget, South Australia's total GST revenue grants have been revised down by $1.3 billion over the next four years. The writedown to GST revenues comes on top of softer tax revenue collections such as property stamp duty revenue, with state taxes expected to be revised down in this year's budget by $1.5 billion compared with the 2011-12 budget.

These tax and GST revenue hits combined mean that South Australia will be $2.8 billion worse off than it was last year. To put that into perspective, $2.8 billion is more than the state's entire yearly education budget. Total payments to South Australia for national partnerships that provide funding for specific projects, programs or reforms have also decreased over time and are estimated to decrease from just under $2.1 billion in 2011-12 to $892.9 million in 2012-13, a decrease of about 57 per cent.

These revenue falls are obviously beyond the government's control and place significant pressure on the state's finances. As a result of the recent revenue writedowns, I will be making some tough decisions when preparing this year's state budget, as this government is committed—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: —to producing a fiscally responsible and financially sustainable state budget. Like last year, there will be—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Members on my left, order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Like last year, there will be little capacity for major new spending initiatives, and the savings targets already in place will obviously need to be met. Despite the latest revenue writedowns the state government is committed to building for South Australia's future with our record commitment on infrastructure, and we are committed to ensuring that the effects of these reduced revenues are not passed on to South Australian families.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Waite.

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