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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-09-17 Daily Xml
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Question Time

Emergency Services Levy

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:06): My question is to the Treasurer. What elements of the emergency services levy increases did the Treasurer consider reversing to try to pass the car park tax through the other place?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:07): The transport development levy is a piece of good public policy that the government took to the election. When South Australians find themselves stuck in congestion coming in and out of the CBD, there will be one person they can turn to and think of and blame for that congestion, and that's the Leader of the Opposition.

The Leader of the Opposition is intent on blocking a piece of legislation that the government has every right to introduce. Everyone expected that if the government was returned this legislation would be part of its platform and part of its budget. Indeed, the government introduced it as part of the budget. It had been consulted to within an inch of its life. People knew it was coming, people were preparing for it to come, but there are very powerful vested interests that want to see it stopped, and the Leader of the Opposition stands with that small group of vested interests rather than the broader population. I think it is important to understand that, as the government made a commitment to keep on building South Australia, we were always intending to place a levy—

Mr Gardner: When nearly one in three South Australians voted for you.

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is called to order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The government always intended to introduce this legislation. The opposition are breaking years of precedent by not supporting the government's revenue measures, not allowing the executive to decide its budget. I just say to the younger members—

Mr Pederick interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I call the member for Hammond to order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I say to the younger members of the Liberal Party, who one day will form—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The deputy leader is warned for the first time.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —part of the executive, that following a desperate man over the cliff is not the way you should be setting yourselves up, because one day members opposite—some of you—will be in government.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: Second person plural. Instead of saying 'you' he should have said 'ye'. Do I anticipate your point of order correctly?

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: No, sir; standing order 98. The minister is not addressing the substance of the question, which was: what issues associated with the emergency services levy is he considering changing?

The SPEAKER: I will listen carefully to what the Treasurer has to say.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: They will want to implement their agenda they have taken to the election, and if the opposition continues down this path of blocking the government's intentions—what they announced at the election were our intentions—then I suppose they will be expecting that if they ever form a government in return.

When you block a government's mandate in a state the size of South Australia, you do create a $130 million hole in the budget and then will complain about congestion and then complain about public transport infrastructure. There will only be one person they can blame for that—and that will be the Leader of the Opposition. In my opinion, this decision being taken by the man who will not be leading you at the next election is a brave one for the rest of you to be taking.

Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order: I am going to ask you to do a ruling on the relevance.

The SPEAKER: Well, you better because otherwise you would be out of order and I would have to ask you to leave the chamber.

Ms CHAPMAN: I'm asking it on this because, notwithstanding the point previously raised, the minister just continued to talk about the transport development levy, that is, the car park tax, but this question is exclusively about the emergency services levy, nothing about any other tax. He might not have any other answers—

The SPEAKER: No, I don't think we need a speech on it. I think you have made a point of order.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Treasurer, I haven't ruled on it yet. I think the Treasurer is just cognate with the question, and I will listen carefully to what he has to say. The opposition really did invite comment on this because of the nature of the question. Treasurer.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Sir, in the question the Leader of the Opposition referenced the transport development levy, so it is not accurate, what the deputy leader said. Perhaps she should attend tactics meetings rather than the other meetings you go to arranging other events to occur later. I say to the younger members that the path you are following the desperate man over the cliff on is a path that will be setting the Liberal Party up for failure if they ever achieve government because you will be attempting—

Ms CHAPMAN: I am not sure if this is the 'Tom Koutsantonis mentoring MPs program'.

The SPEAKER: I warn the deputy leader for the second time for referring to the Treasurer by his diminutive and his surname.

Ms CHAPMAN: No, I said, sir, with respect, 'This is not the Tom Koutsantonis mentoring program for new MPs.'

The SPEAKER: I regard that as offending the principle. What is the point of order?

Ms CHAPMAN: The point of order is that clearly the minister has decided that he is not going to answer the question and, in doing so, is filling it up with election—

The SPEAKER: No, I don't think we need your description.

Ms CHAPMAN: Well, just in case, sir, you missed it—

The SPEAKER: No, I don't miss anything up here.

Ms CHAPMAN: Well, having heard every word, I am sure you will support the submission I put to you; that is, this is clearly not a response to the question, lecturing the opposition about the conduct of MPs.

The SPEAKER: No, well, that wouldn't be; however, the question did invite in its structure comments about the related or unrelated levy. We only had 19 questions yesterday, down from the normal 30 or so, and it is because of things like this. Let's hear the point of order.

Mr WILLIAMS: I wasn't going to make a point of order, Mr Speaker: I am seeking your guidance. I am wondering whether it is in order for me to move to suspend sessional orders to give the Treasurer another four minutes because he has used in excess of 3½ minutes and hasn't got anywhere near the substance of the question.

The SPEAKER: The member for MacKillop will leave the chamber for 15 minutes.

The honourable member for MacKillop having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I’m not sure if ‘konnichiwa’ is goodbye or hello in Japanese. The government does not conduct its negotiation with the crossbenchers in public. The government is entitled to attempt to get its budget through both houses of parliament. We took the transport development levy to the election. This is not like Prime Minister Abbott’s promised ‘no cuts to health, no cuts to education, no cuts to pensioners’ and then reversing all of that. We always said that if we formed government we would introduce a transport development levy, and it's the right thing to do by South Australians.

The SPEAKER: Alas, the Treasurer’s time has expired. Leader.

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