HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Subject Index
House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-05-14 Daily Xml
Contents
Pdf Xml

Federal Budget

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:20): Supplementary to the Treasurer: can the Treasurer outline to the house what the final wash-up of federal government revenue to South Australia will be this financial year compared with what he put out in his budget last year? How does it compare with what Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd promised South Australia would receive this year? Is it higher or in fact lower?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:21): If you are talking about GST distributions—

Mr Marshall: No, I wasn't—total federal revenue to South Australia.

The SPEAKER: Yes, I think we've got the question. Treasurer.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: You can't answer that question without including the cuts made by the commonwealth to our health service, so I will just go through the cuts one more time so that the Leader of the Opposition understands in full the size and scope of the cuts. We are receiving $73.9 million less this year in our National Health Reform Agreement that former prime minister Gillard promised. We are receiving $28 million less from a national partnership—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I am reluctant to warn and remove from the house the leader. I give him enormous scope to interject, more than all the rest of his team and the parliament combined. I would ask him now to show some restraint.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I will start again. With the National Health Reform Agreement as agreed by the former Labor government, we are receiving $73.9 million less from the Abbott government; as agreed by the former Gillard government, the National Partnership Agreement on Improving Public Hospital Services, we are receiving $28 million less; as agreed by the previous Labor government, we are receiving now on a National Partnership Agreement on Financial Assistance for Long Stay Older Patients, $10.6 million less.

The health national partnership reform payments and other national payments as agreed by the former Labor government, this current government is cutting that by $3.9 million. The National Partnership Agreement on Preventative Health, the National Partnership Agreement on Indigenous Early Childhood Development, $1.8 million. In health alone, we are receiving less from the Abbott government than we would have received had the previous Labor government been re-elected to the tune of $125.1 million.

But there's more. Other related funding is the National Education Reform Agreement, the National Agreement on Skills Reform, the National Partnership Agreement on Training Places for Single and Teenage Parents is $2.2 million; the National Partnership Agreement on Certain Concessions for Pensioner Concession Card and Seniors Card holders will be stepped in today, $30.5 million (that was agreed by prime minister Keating, prime minister Howard, prime minister Rudd and prime minister Gillard, and it took Prime Minister Abbott to get rid of it), and we are getting less from the National Partnership Agreement to Deliver a Seamless National Economy, $2.5 million, —a total through other impacts as well of $35.2 million—totalling $160.3 million this year alone that we are worse off since the election of the Abbott government.

If they think that we can somehow take road funding or funding from Torrens to Torrens or Darlington or some other infrastructure program and reassign that money into health, they are mistaken. These commonwealth grants are tied to activity, and that is again what the opposition refuses to accept. They refuse to accept it. I can't move that money around as I see fit. That money is tied to specific purposes. That is how the government do it. They have a methodology where they pay payments as projects are delivered.

I can't move money out of Darlington and Torrens to Torrens, and nor should I move that money out of those projects to fund cuts in health and cuts in education and cuts to pensioner concessions made by the colleagues of members opposite in Canberra. What we need to do is to have these cuts reversed.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: While the GST is increasing, it does not meet the cuts made by the commonwealth.

Mr van Holst Pellekaan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Stuart, even before that interjection, was going to be warned for the second and final time. The member for Mount Gambier is called to order and warned a first time, and the member for Davenport is called to order. I point out to the member for Unley standing order 142: when a member is speaking no-one may make a noise or disturbance or converse aloud. Leader.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT