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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-06-14 Daily Xml
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Economic Recovery Fund

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (14:58): My question is to the Premier. How many jobs will the Economic Recovery Fund, announced by the Premier on 26 May, create?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer) (14:58): In short, as many as possible because what is clear is that we are still in economic recovery, hence the need for an economic recovery fund. While there have been really significant improvements in economic performance, particularly in those industries which were suffering from the greatest restrictions, there are still sectors of the economy that need support. There are also additional growth opportunities in the future where companies, for example, may want to grow their businesses, may want to expand their operations and employ more South Australians, but perhaps don't have the capacity to fund such an expansion on their own.

We think that there are very likely opportunities for the government to partner with those businesses or to partner with those industries and do it in an open and transparent way. We won't just wait for some acolyte of the Liberal Party to come and privately approach the government before we send it across.

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: How many jobs?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: The member for Unley cries out, 'How many jobs?'

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

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Well, let me point out a couple of jobs that won't be existing. There will not be sinecures for fundraisers for the Unley sub-branch of the Liberal Party. Those jobs will be gone.

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: How many jobs?

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is warned.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Chaffey is warned.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: There won't be people in decision-making positions who will be quietly appointing personal political fundraisers to these sorts of positions.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Treasurer, please be seated. Member for Unley, constant interjections of the type that you have engaged in are plainly disorderly. I appreciate your contributions for the most part, but on this occasion I'm going to ask you to leave under 137A for eight minutes until the end of question time.

The honourable member for Unley having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: I was bemused to see the criticism of the budget papers from both the shadow treasurer and the Leader of the Opposition claiming that 'jobs growth was falling off a cliff'. I thought, 'What on earth could be the basis for such a remarkable assertion from both of them?' Apparently, it's because the employment growth forecasts in our state budget adopt exactly the same employment growth forecasts that were contained in the former Liberal government's budgets released after that state election.

I had a look to see what those employment growth forecasts were, about how many jobs would be created. Lo and behold, you open up chapter 7, the South Australian economy, and you look at those economic forecasts and what does it say? One per cent, one per cent, one per cent. That was in the 2018-19 budget. Then you open up the 2019-20 budget and what does it say? One per cent, one per cent, one per cent, again. The temerity of those opposite—including the Leader of the Opposition, who sat in cabinet and approved those figures when approving the budget as a member of the government—to come in and say that their 1 per cent terrific, our 1 per cent bad is just extraordinary. It smacks of the most ridiculous, desperate criticism of this budget.

To be honest, where is the alternative? You criticise the money that's being handed out to community groups: well, tell us what you don't support. You criticise the amount of cost-of-living support that this budget provides: well, where is your alternative? We just had an opportunity for the government-in-waiting, as they would call themselves, to present their budget response and things that they would do differently. What was the alternative?

Mr Cowdrey: Point of order: we have well got away from the question here—debate.

The SPEAKER: The point of order is debate. There is some force in the point of order. I'm going to listen carefully but draw the Treasurer's attention to the question.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: We will be creating as many jobs as possible, not just through the $100 million economic recovery fund, and also providing a floor of economic activity and growth through the $18.6 billion worth of capital investment occurring across the entire total government sector. All those projects—building new hospital beds, building new technical colleges, building new public housing, accommodation for the homeless—will support jobs here in South Australia.

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