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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-02-14 Daily Xml
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Question Time

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:44): My question is to the Premier. Given that the Premier has taken responsibility for last weekend's by-election results, does he now take responsibility for South Australia having the nation's highest taxes, the nation's worst economic growth, the nation's worst business investment growth, the nation's highest decline in job vacancies, the nation's highest capital city water charges, the nation's worst business confidence, the nation's worst buildings approvals figures, and the nation's worst performing workers compensation system?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:44): I thank the honourable member for her question and welcome all members of parliament back to this session. It appears, though, that the invitation by the Governor to engage in civil discourse seems to have been largely ignored, at least on that side of the chamber, but we will continue to press ahead.

We took the opportunity today, with the opening of parliament, to outline our vision for South Australia's future. What the Governor said in his speech, and this government firmly believes, is that we have never been in a more exciting time in this state's history. The sense of possibility about what can happen for the future of our state, I think, has never been more optimistic; that is what I detect when I move around and speak to South Australia's citizens. Of course, in outlining that vision for the future of South Australia, we did not just outline propositions for the next few months, or even for the next few years: we outlined changes that are going to be important for the next decade.

Mrs REDMOND: Point of order. The question was clearly about the Premier's willingness to take responsibility for the appalling economic situation in this state, not about what he had to say, through the Governor, at the opening of parliament.

The SPEAKER: I understand that your point of order is about relevance, but I am sure that the Premier will get to answering.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Madam Speaker, I think the Leader of the Opposition managed to touch on every topic that touches the social culture or economic affairs of the state. I think I have a fairly broad scope to be able to answer this question.

What we did today was not only talk about the future—and not just the short term but the very long term. We made some very significant choices about the way forward, and we did not choose easy things; we chose hard things, because that is what this party does: it actually grapples with the big public policy questions and puts them on the agenda.

What we did was invite the whole community, including the opposition, to be part of that discourse. We wanted them not only to be part of that debate but also to contribute to the ideas that are going to shape this state into the future, and what we get—and what we will continue to get—from the opposition is negativity. We will continue to get them looking at the past, rather than the future. We will continue to see them essentially being absent—absent from the political debate and the political affairs of this state, just as they were absent from the two by-elections on Saturday. Madam Speaker—

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order, Madam Speaker. We on this side are still struggling to understand the relevance of the minister's answer to a very important question.

The SPEAKER: Member for MacKillop, the Premier can answer the question in any way he chooses. He is answering the question.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Madam Speaker, they could not have found themselves further away from the electorates of Ramsay and Port Adelaide if they tried. They were huddled on the border, in Mount Gambier, trying to avoid putting forward public policy ideas and reveal them to the electors of the seats of Ramsay and Port Adelaide. We revelled the opportunity to speak to the working people of Port Adelaide and Ramsay and to put our agenda in front of them, and they chose us. They continue to choose us to represent them.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier will sit down until there is some quiet. Order! The Premier, have you finished your answer? Thank you. The member for Lee.

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