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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-03-19 Daily Xml
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Mining Employment

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:14): Does the Premier stand by his commitment to the people of South Australia made in October last year to create 5,000 new jobs in the mining sector by November 2017?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:15): There is no doubt that the mining sector, the resources industry, is under immense pressure. That pressure is being brought to bear by international forces. I have to say: how much worse would it have been had the opposition, who had no mining policy, been elected at the last election? What would they have said to the investors in the oil and gas sector had premier Marshall been elected—

Mr PISONI: Point of order: the minister has no responsibility for what may or may not have been Liberal Party policy at the last election.

The SPEAKER: No, I wouldn't use the word 'responsibility', but it is licit for the Treasurer to canvass what opposition policy was on the record in the past if he can make it relevant to the question, which is the loss of jobs in the mining sector.

Mr GARDNER: Sir, the Treasurer, who is on a warning, is not supposed to be using people's surnames.

The SPEAKER: I'm sorry, I was listening to the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr GARDNER: Sir, previously you have warned many members for using surnames rather than electorate. The Treasurer is on one warning and he shouldn't be using people's surnames.

The SPEAKER: I warn the Treasurer about that. It does lead unnecessarily to quarrels.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, sir. As frightening as premier Marshall sounds I apologise to the house—

The SPEAKER: I warn the Treasurer for the second and final time—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Thank you, sir.

The SPEAKER: —because I just cautioned the Treasurer—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, sir.

The SPEAKER: —on not using surnames.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, sir.

The SPEAKER: It is against standing orders, it is against the historic practice of the house, and he immediately got to his feet and did so.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, I apologise, sir, wholeheartedly. There is no doubt that companies like Santos, Beach Energy, BHP and OZ Minerals are doing it tough, but they have a government that is unashamedly pro mining, unashamedly right behind them, unashamedly standing right alongside them.

According to the Commonwealth Grants Commission, we have one of the lowest tax efforts in the resources area. Why? We want to incentivise mining. We have what is recognised internationally as a set of the best regulatory frameworks for the resources industry almost anywhere in the world. We are exceptionally proud of that reputation, and we will not do anything to damage that reputation.

Yes, we are investing in the resources industry—the Plan for Accelerating Exploration, and partnering with those resources companies to go and unlock that next discovery, that next Carrapateena, that next Olympic Dam and the next Cooper Basin. We are out there with them, standing alongside them, but what we do not do is say what they are doing is dangerous. What we are not doing—

Mr MARSHALL: The minister is failing to answer the substance of the question, which is about the government's commitment.

The SPEAKER: I disagree with the Leader of the Opposition. The Treasurer is addressing the question of employment in the mining sector and how it might be grown and how it might contract if certain policy settings occur.

Mr MARSHALL: That wasn't the question. The question was specifically about a government commitment and whether the government was standing by the commitment.

The SPEAKER: I think it is somewhat churlish to say that in the course of his answer the minister cannot traverse the question of what leads to growth in the mining sector and what leads to contraction in the mining sector. Treasurer.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: This government puts its money where its mouth is. We stand by our commitment to the resources sector. We stand by our commitments to the oil and gas sector and we stand by them; in fact, we are investing in the next stage of the Drill Core Library. A lot of members might not understand the importance of things like drill core libraries, but they are the mapping rooms to find that next discovery.

Remember this, Mr Speaker: it was through our Drill Core Library at Glenside that we discovered Olympic Dam. It was through our Drill Core Library that we discovered the Cooper Basin. It is through the investments that we are making through PACE that we discovered Carrapateena. We are investing in infrastructure that helps build the resources industry. In fact, it is so successful that the Western Australian government is copying us, the Queensland government is copying us, and the New South Wales government is copying us. We are the leaders—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: We are the leaders, Mr Speaker. Yesterday, I informed the house of the Northern Territory's Hawke inquiry into oil and gas. We hear, referred to time and time again, that the example of the best exemplar of investigating in the resources industry is the South Australian Labor government. We have invested in the next generation of the State Drill Core Library, a further $4 million in the Mining and Petroleum Services Centre of Excellence to address industry priorities and drive performance and productivity, further building on our $6 million commitment announced in the 2013-14 budget—a further $4 million for PACE.

Might I add that the opposition was silent on PACE at the last election; they were probably planning to abolish it with deferred royalties for the oil and gas sector. We are investing in unconventional gas—again, silence from the opposition on what their policies were on unconventional gas, other than an inquiry, because they say it is a dangerous process. We are investing $4 million—$4 million—in a brand new airstrip at Innamincka. Why? We want to waterproof the Cooper Basin to make sure the lines of communication and transport are always open. We are investing in jobs—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Alas, the minister's time has expired.

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