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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-02-08 Daily Xml
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State Economy

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:41): My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer provide the house with an update on the South Australian economy; specifically, how it finished in 2022?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer) (15:42): I thank the member for Light for his interest in the state of the South Australian economy, because it has been good news during the course of 2022. The state's economic performance has only strengthened.

The most recent statistics in the labour market show that there is a record number of South Australians now in work, the highest number ever at 923,400 or 15,200 more than at the time of the last state election. South Australia's unemployment rate is at a record low—it is only the second time the rate has had a three in front of it—at 3.9 per cent. Despite having such a low unemployment rate, the ABS reports a record high number of job vacancies—25,300—currently in South Australia, with more than 22,000 of those in the private sector.

The value of work done in South Australia across all building sectors hit a new record of $1.8 billion, 5.3 per cent higher than a year earlier, and the total value of construction work done in the quarter rose 3.9 per cent to hit an unprecedented $3.8 billion. The total pipeline for construction work in South Australia is currently at a near-record $14.6 billion, 59 per cent higher than a year earlier.

This record level of construction and the strong performance of the state's labour market means that Commsec's State of the States report showed that South Australia's ranking jumped from fifth in the nation to third in the nation—great economic news for South Australia. Most recently, only last week, we saw that business confidence here in South Australia is the highest amongst the mainland states, with the NAB Quarterly Business Survey for the December quarter reporting that very strong figure.

Mr Cowdrey: What about conditions?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: The member for Colton asks about conditions. Of course, they are very strong, too, otherwise we wouldn't have record levels of employment and an equal record-low unemployment rate. It is terrific news.

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: The member for Hartley asks about the state's credit rating—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: —which, of course, was downgraded under the watch of the former Treasurer, Rob Lucas. That's right—downgraded.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Hartley!

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: You can see the member for Hartley still agitating against the establishment of the Liberal Party in an effort to take the member for Black's job. Of course, this good news does come with some significant caveats because, as the current Leader of the Opposition said—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: —there are difficulties experienced by households and businesses with an increasing cash rate and high levels of inflation. That's why there are now global economic forecasts predicting a slowdown in global economic conditions.

The federal government and the Reserve Bank of Australia, since the October federal budget, have been forecasting a slowdown in the nation's economy here in Australia. That means that, if there are headwinds for the state's economy to confront in the coming months as a result of those declining national economic conditions, these figures mean that South Australia will confront those headwinds from the strongest economic position in the state's history. That is great news for those South Australians currently in work and currently running a business here in South Australia.

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