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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-05-15 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

FEDERAL BUDGET

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:04): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Last night, the federal Treasurer released the 2013-14 federal budget. Like recent budgets at both state and national levels, it is a document framed in the context of constrained economic activity, particularly in comparison with pre global financial crisis levels. The budget has significant implications for South Australia. Treasury continues to work through the federal budget documents to assess the impacts.

However, what is readily apparent is that the federal government has experienced significantly lower revenues in the current financial year than what was previously forecast, leading to a deterioration in the forecast budget outcomes. The lower revenue forecasts also include reductions to estimated GST revenue collections. Against the figures contained in the federal midyear economic and fiscal outlook, revenue collections are estimated to be $2.8 billion less over the current and forward estimate financial years.

For South Australia, Treasury advised that this has a negative impact of approximately $300 million across the five financial years. This will place further pressure on an already difficult budget position. The state budget has already experienced ongoing and significant downward revisions of GST and state revenues since the onset of the GFC. The cumulative impact of these downward revisions has been significant over the forward estimates period.

Our government has chosen to continue to support current and future economic activity and jobs by continuing with our significant infrastructure program. We have also sought to ensure that the savings we have achieved, as well as those we continue to impose, are focused on efficiencies within the Public Service and limiting the impact on services and members of the community.

These are difficult times in which to develop a budget. The government is faced with a fundamental choice, however: to continue investing in our frontline services and infrastructure while moving the budget position back to surplus over the forward estimates period, or the other option, which is to withdraw from our investments in infrastructure that are supporting economic activity and to cut drastically into our frontline services in an effort to bring the budget into surplus more quickly. The government has chosen the former, to support jobs and services for people. The alternative is really no option. It consigns our economy to lower growth, to fewer jobs, to fewer supports for people who need it. I look forward to delivering my government's budget in the coming weeks to address these challenges.

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