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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-07-23 Daily Xml
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Bills

Appropriation Bill 2019

Appropriation Grievances

Adjourned debate on motion to note grievances.

(Continued from 4 July 2019.)

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (11:01): I rise to make a grievance contribution on the Appropriation Bill 2019 and, in doing so, I have to say that as the member for Torrens, on behalf of my residents I am extremely disappointed with what the budget offers. It is a budget that fails to deliver to the people and particularly the people in the north-east.

The Premier appears to have a short memory when it comes to what he says and what he does. The budget puts extraordinary increases on South Australian households and businesses. This is from a Premier who said in opposition, 'We were the ones who said we would have no new levies and taxes. It was simple; it was clear: 'We were the ones who said we would have no new levies and taxes.' Now that we have a Marshall Liberal government, let's unpack that and see how it pans out in just a few areas in the 2019-20 state budget.

Those opposite promised lower costs, but we have a list of increases. Increase: motor registration up 5 per cent. Increase: driver's licence renewals up 4.5 per cent. In addition, all South Australians conducting transactions at a Service SA centre relating to the Motor Vehicles Act will be hit with higher administration fees.

This includes transactions to transfer registration or replace number plates; the issue or renewal of driver's licences and heavy vehicle certificates; applications for a learner's permit; undertaking a theory exam, a practical driving test or a perception test; and those who apply for a disability parking permit. That is before we lose the Modbury and Prospect Service SA centres that the government says it will close. These centres are so important to many in the north-east, particularly to our seniors.

While on the issue of transport, the Klemzig O-Bahn Interchange that was budgeted for by Labor, with contracts being awarded, was subsequently cut by the Marshall Liberal government. Commuters are without sufficient parking and local residents are having to deal with congested streets and nightmare traffic conditions. Let's not forget the bus routes that have already been cut.

The Marshall government's increase thrust on South Australians goes on and on. Increase: catching public transport will be more expensive, with fares up 2 per cent. Increase: the axing of the two-section card, costing some commuters $849 more. Increase: free Metrocards now costing $5 each. Increase: hospital car parking is up by $725 per year for nurses, cleaners and other employees. This is an enormous increase, and employees hit by this increase will include those at The Queen Liz, Lyell McEwin, Modbury Hospital, Flinders Medical Centre, Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre and Noarlunga Hospital.

Increase: hospital patients and their families will pay 20 per cent more, and the free two-hour parking at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has been axed. Increase: the fee for calling out an ambulance has gone up nearly $50. Increase: even putting out the wheelie bin is more expensive, with the government imposing an increase in the solid waste levy of 40 per cent on councils across the state, resulting in many cases in an increase in council rates. The solid waste levy increase would see Tea Tree Gully council suffer a $500,000 impact in the 2019-20 budget. How are they dealing with it and who will feel the impact? Tea Tree Gully council voted to increase rates to 2.9 per cent and they cut $300,000 from the grants line for community and sports clubs as a result of the state government's bin tax.

Port Adelaide Enfield council has seen an impact on its budget of approximately $613,000, resulting in the 2019 rates revenue increase to 2.5 per cent from the prior 1.9 per cent before the government's bin tax. Increase: tradies are being taxed, with licences up 10 per cent, trailer registration up 10 per cent and ute registration up 10 per cent. Another increase impacts entertainment, where hikes of thousands of dollars are likely to be thrust on pubs and bars and, wait for it, major events, with the police rent tax. Where are we going with it? Will taxes be imposed on the AFL matches, the festivals, the Adelaide Festival, the Adelaide Fringe Festival, WOMADelaide, the Cabaret Festival and other arts festivals? We are yet to see the outcome of this one.

Increase: the Premier and his government have even found a way to tax a day out for the family by increasing entry fees for parks such as Cleland Wildlife Park by a massive 25 per cent. These will also be increased at Seal Bay and Kelly Hill Caves on Kangaroo Island. These increases in fees not only impact local families but they will also hurt our state's tourism.

It does not end there. We have an ageing demographic. It is no secret that people are now living longer, and that is a good thing. My office in the north-eastern suburbs is a busy office, one that receives inquiries about almost everything from people of all ages and backgrounds. One subject matter that is raised regularly is the need for assistance around the home, particularly for the more senior members of the community who may suffer from health conditions, live on their own or not be as steady on their feet anymore.

The state government's Personal Alert Systems Rebate Scheme provides approved applicants a rebate of up to $250 per year for a personal alert button which can be used if they have a fall or experience a medical episode and which calls for emergency services straight away. This has proven to save lives and keep people safe in their homes.

Recently, I had a phone call from Bill, a 92-year-old resident, who called my office to tell me about a letter he had received telling him that, from 1 October 2019, the state Liberal government will be cutting that rebate by $50, which will have a significant impact on those on a pension or with a low household income. The email received says, 'Changes to the personal alert rebate scheme have been introduced as a budget measure: From 1 October 2019, the annual monitoring fee rebate paid to suppliers will decrease from $250 to $200.' This is a negative thing. It is impacting again on our seniors. It is another increase.

Another budget measure affecting some of the most vulnerable in our community is the Marshall government's cut of $780,000 to the Women's Domestic Violence Court Assistance Service, putting vulnerable people at risk. We know that, tragically, one woman per week in Australia loses her life at the hands of a current or former partner. Thousands more are physically and mentally injured and many suffer psychological, financial and emotional abuse. It is appalling that a government can include a reduction in funding to the service as a 'savings measure'.

The Minister for Education speaks about the government's investment in education, but in this budget schools in Torrens have missed out. I have spoken in this place of the great importance to the local community of Avenues College—the amalgamation of the two schools, Windsor Gardens Secondary College and Gilles Plains Primary School—and the need for the timely infrastructure build, which includes a new children's centre/preschool, and the upgrade to the existing buildings.

The two campuses are now scheduled to come together on the McKay Avenue campus next year, more than 12 months after the original date, and further funding is required to achieve the goals the amalgamation is set to achieve. This needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency to give certainty to Avenues College's growing school community.

I could find nothing in the budget for Avenues College. If the minister is serious about providing opportunities for our students, Avenues College should be a high-priority school for needs-based funding. Why should students attending Avenues College miss out on having their learning areas upgraded and refurbished as part of the amalgamation?

Klemzig Primary School is also in my electorate of Torrens and requires a commitment based on need and the safety of students, highlighted by the fact that the school is a centre for the hearing impaired. With new housing development in the area, there is increased traffic around the school and, along with the school community, I am concerned about the safety of the children and their families, particularly those who are deaf and hard of hearing. Parents are concerned, teachers are concerned and residents are concerned.

I have raised this issue with the minister and was hoping to see a resolution to it in the 2019-20 budget, but the solution has failed to materialise. Labor committed to addressing the issue before the election and now that the new housing development has commenced, with 41 new dwellings adjoining the school, it is crucial. Literally speaking, the current situation is an accident waiting to happen. Without the minister listening and without the minister allocating funds for a solution, our hands are tied. I could go on and on: closing the Strathmont pool, used by 1,500 mostly children, many on the autism spectrum or with disabilities who used it for water therapy.

Yesterday, I received a phone call from a resident who is a real estate agent in the north-east. He wanted me to deliver a message to the Premier. He said:

Last week, I had six mum-and-dad investors contact me saying they wanted to put the properties they owned on the market, because they couldn't afford the Liberal government's land tax announced in the State Budget. This is mum-and-dad investors, not wealthy people but people putting away for their retirement. The market will be flooded with properties. There will be fewer properties available for rent and rents will be forced up. The banks are making it more and more difficult for young people to buy a home, and now rents will go up making it even more difficult for them to save.

He pointed out that this is from a Liberal government whose leader said in opposition that they would reduce land tax. Eighteen months in, we have broken promises that are characteristic of this government. Lower costs and better services are nowhere in sight.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (11:12): I wish to speak briefly on the grievance for the Appropriation Bill. I would like to highlight a couple of issues. I will not cover the areas that have been covered extremely well by my colleagues. The member for Torrens has covered a number of issues and I would certainly endorse her comments.

The first issue I would like to talk about, and one which is dear to my heart, is road safety and this government's record on road safety. I want to put this in the context of not only road safety but also this government's commitment to the community at the last election about lower costs, better services and no privatisation. It is very important to put that up-front because the government has broken all those three promises and has actually taken down those three pillars, which are the foundation for this government.

Firstly, in relation to road safety, we are aware that they have dismantled the Motor Accident Commission's road safety programs. Generally speaking, in my view, their road safety programs are in disarray.

The Hon. C.L. Wingard interjecting:

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: The minister scoffs.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: The minister scoffs about the disarray. Well, the results speak for themselves. The harsh reality of the results speaks for itself. This government has taken its eye off road safety. It spent 16 years in opposition and has blurred the message as to what road safety is about. Every time the previous government did something in relation to road safety, they would call it a revenue measure.

It is interesting that in this budget they have actually increased fines on a number of penalties. The problem with what they have done is, if your fine system and compliance system is not tailored to a road safety outcome, the message gets diluted. It disconnects the message.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: It disconnects the message because what people heard from the Treasurer was essentially, 'We are raising these fines because we can and we need it for the budget,' because they have misspent money in other areas. When people hear the message that we are raising fines, etc., and doing very little in the road safety area, they do not hear 'road safety measures'. They do not hear the road safety message.

The Hon. C.L. Wingard interjecting:

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: The minister again interrupts to try to cover his mismanagement of the portfolio and this government's inability to make any cut through in this area. We sadly see the results on our roads. This government has done nothing in that regard. We heard one of the current ministers say that he was going to reduce speeds. He spent a number of years talking about how he was going to reduce speeds on rural roads because that was the thing to do. Has it happened? No, it has not happened. They were going to do a whole range of things in the road safety area. They have done zilch—

The Hon. C.L. Wingard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: —except cut funds from road safety programs. The most the minister has done is criticise one of the commercials. His whole contribution to road safety is to criticise one of the commercials that appeared on television. That is quite a pitiful contribution by this minister and this government.

The Hon. C.L. Wingard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: Sadly, as I said before, the results speak for themselves. It is a reflection of this government's inability to do the right thing by this community. A very important measure related to road safety that we support is making sure that drivers are properly trained. We need to make sure that people understand how to use a vehicle properly, etc. We should encourage people to get the appropriate professional training so that they can use a vehicle properly, understand the road rules and also understand what is behind the road rules to make our roads safer.

Again, I remind the parliament about this government's three pillars: lower costs, better services and no privatisation. Recently, a number of driving instructors in my electorate received an email from the government. Without any consultation or notification, these driving instructors were advised that road testing in Gawler would cease. The government are just cutting that out. They are cutting the ability for learner drivers to be tested in their town. It is a bit like the Service SA cutbacks, where they are shutting down a number of offices. This is a shutdown of services for driver training and testing.

What are the repercussions? I think that it undermines road safety. We want to encourage people, young people in particular, to take up driver education. We want to make sure that young people do the right thing, get assessed and tested and do not go on the road untrained. I understand that this decision by the government will close down four sites where people can be tested. These people are mainly young learner drivers.

It has the following results. These are not my views but the views of the industry, which covers a number of small businesses. This decision by the government increases the costs for these small businesses and increases the costs of being tested for young people and their parents. It also takes young people away from their schooling because they often do their driving lessons and tests before or after school.

Not only does it increase the costs for the driving instructors in these small businesses but it reduces their capacity to earn income. It minimises the time they can have clients because people will now have to go to Elizabeth from Gawler and outlying areas, for example, Roseworthy and Kapunda. All those little townships outside Gawler that use it as a regional centre for their services are going to be hit again by this government. They were first hit with other cuts, and in this cut the government are going to discontinue a service that they provide.

The sheer arrogance of this government is that they did not even consult the industry: 'This is what we are planning to do.' They just went out there and said, 'This is what we are doing and it starts now, this day.' As of Thursday, that service will be discontinued in Gawler. I have had a barrage of parents, young people and driving instructors saying that this government is out of control. They cannot be trusted to maintain their policies. In one fell swoop, they increased the costs of small businesses, reduced their capacity to earn income and increased the cost of living for young people and their families.

Some of the things industry members have mentioned to me include extended working hours due to more time getting to other hubs, pick-up times and drop-off points, and extra resources required, etc. There will be an additional 50 minutes to get a young person tested, so there is a loss of income for driving instructors and more time for the young person, who often take time off school to get tested. There is also the cost of the additional travel on our roads for the instructors. For people who live in Gawler, it compounds the problem, with an additional cost for these young people. One of the driving instructors said:

I have been a driving instructor for eight years and have been based in Gawler. The cancellation of the Gawler hub has caused me stress as now I have to add on at least 20 to 25 minutes each way approximately, which is a lot of pressure on myself, including students, to get to and from my next appointments, which are mainly based around Gawler.

With a number of her clients coming from Kapunda, Hamley Bridge, Mallala and Riverton, this instructor will actually have additional costs. These are rural people—regional people who this government is supposedly interested in because, remember, regions matter. In this case, regions do not matter because these regional young people and instructors will have to bear the brunt of this bad policy—this decision by the Minister for Transport to cut another service in my town.

Young people, their parents and driving instructors are not impressed with this decision, particularly as there was no consultation. Not only do we increase the cost of private transport but it is interesting to note that the government has decided to reduce the level of security on public transport. This is a government that was committed to improving public transport and numbers on public transport. They are reducing security. Why would they reduce police numbers on public transport? It is because now that they have a police rent tax they really cannot afford to charge the new privatised owners of the rail to have police on the trains.

What they are doing is preparing the rail to make it as cheap as possible to sell to the private consortium and people will pay the price through lower security. They will pay the price because there will be fewer people using our trains and the government will have to make up the gap to the private contractor. This government has failed on all three pillars and cannot be trusted.

Motion carried.

Estimates Committees

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (11:22): I move:

That the proposed expenditures for the departments and services contained in the Appropriation Bill be referred to Estimates Committees A and B for examination and report by 31 July, in accordance with the following timetables:

APPROPRIATION BILL 2019

TIMETABLE FOR ESTIMATES COMMITTEES

ESTIMATES COMMITTEE A

WEDNESDAY 24 JULY AT 9.00 AM

Premier

Legislative Council

House of Assembly

Joint Parliamentary Services

Administered Items for Joint Parliamentary Services

State Governor's Establishment

Auditor-General's Department

Department of the Premier and Cabinet (part)

Administered Items for the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (part)

Defence SA

THURSDAY 25 JULY AT 9.00 AM

Minister for Innovation and Skills

Department for Innovation and Skills

Administered Items for the Department for Innovation and Skills

Minister for Energy and Mining

Department of Energy and Mining (part)

FRIDAY 26 JULY AT 9.00 AM

Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services

Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing

Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (part)

Administered Items for the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (part)

Administered Items for the Department of Treasury and Finance (part)

South Australia Police

Administered Items for South Australia Police

Department for Correctional Services

Department of the Premier and Cabinet (part)

Administered Items for the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (part)

MONDAY 29 JULY AT 1.30 PM

Attorney-General

Courts Administration Authority

Attorney-General's Department

Administered Items for the Attorney-General's Department

Electoral Commission of South Australia

Administered Items for Electoral Commission of South Australia

TUESDAY 30 JULY AT 9.00 AM

Minister for Planning

Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government

Administered Items for the Department of Treasury and Finance (part)

Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (part)

Administered Items for the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (part)

ESTIMATES COMMITTEE B

WEDNESDAY 24 JULY AT 9.00 AM

Treasurer

Department of Treasury and Finance

Administered Items for the Department of Treasury and Finance (part)

THURSDAY 25 JULY AT 9.00 AM

Minister for Education

Department for Education

Administered Items for the Department for Education

Minister for Child Protection

Department for Child Protection

FRIDAY 26 JULY AT 9.00 AM

Minister for Human Services

Department of Human Services

Administered Items for the Department of Human Services

Minister for Health and Wellbeing

Department for Health and Wellbeing

South Australian Mental Health Commission

MONDAY 29 JULY AT 1.00 PM

Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development

Department of Primary Industries and Regions

Administered Items for the Department of Primary Industries and Regions

TUESDAY 30 JULY AT 9.00 AM

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment

Department for Trade, Tourism and Investment

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment

South Australian Tourism Commission

Minister for Environment and Water

Department for Environment and Water

Administered Items for the Department for Environment and Water

Department for Energy and Mining (part)

Motion carried.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (11:23): I move:

That Estimates Committee A be appointed, consisting of Mr Treloar, Mr Basham, Mr Brown, Ms Luethen, Mr Malinauskas, Mr Szakacs and Mr Teague.

Motion carried.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (11:23): I move:

That Estimates Committee B be appointed, consisting of Mr Duluk, Hon. L.W.K. Bignell, Mr Ellis, Dr Harvey, Mr McBride, Ms Michaels and Hon. S.C. Mullighan.

Motion carried.

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