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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-11-26 Daily Xml
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Economic Growth

Mr TELFER (Flinders) (15:40): My question is to the Minister for Small and Family Business. Does South Australia have the second weakest economic growth in the nation and, if so, how is it affecting small business? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr TELFER: The annual ABS data on gross state product showed that South Australia had the second weakest growth in the nation for the 2023-24 financial year. South Australian businesses remain plagued by an increase in costs and regulations as business conditions hit their lowest since the COVID pandemic.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (15:40): I detect the theme of questions that the member for Flinders is asking, and I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about the overall economic performance of the state. The first thing I would say is this: as the member for Flinders is well aware, there has consistently been a range of metrics, particularly over the last 18 months, more acutely throughout the course of the first half of this year, that have demonstrated that the South Australian economy is powering along in a rather strong way. It is easy for the member for Flinders to try to pick a stat here or there, but the truth is that the overwhelming measures of the state's economic performance that are holistic in nature, composite in nature, rather than a random stat here or there, point to a lot of strength in the South Australian economy.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left, you have already been warned.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: The member for Flinders talks about GSP. There has been a range of GSP numbers that show that South Australia's economic growth has outperformed the rest of the country's, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, at various points over the course of the most recent cycles.

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: Anyone's poorer under you.

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley can leave until the end of question time.

The honourable member for Unley having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: More than that, we have seen some economic statistics in regard to the areas of most concern to the government actually show that we are leading the nation, one of the most important being in addressing the housing crisis with construction starts and new dwelling starts, as verified by independent authorities, such as, hypothetically, the Commonwealth Bank pointing to South Australia's strong performance in that regard, which is probably why if you have a building trade in South Australia you have never been busier.

You would much rather have a construction trade in South Australia than many other parts of the country, which is again why we are investing so much effort in skills development, whether it be our trade schools or TAFE or anywhere else. Commencements are one thing, but completions are very much the focus because completions are what leads to people actually being able to participate in the profession.

Beyond construction or dwelling starts, we have seen other areas of strong performance in South Australia in the areas that I think matter most to South Australians. The member for Flinders, the shadow treasurer, also talked about business confidence. Business confidence in South Australia over the last few years has very much exceeded the rest of the country. Whether it be the HIA or the Commonwealth Bank or the ANZ or the Business Council of Australia that does reporting on the sorts of things that matter in terms of government policy having a positive impact on private investment, we welcome their endorsement of state government policy.

What will be an interesting indicator in coming weeks or months is that we anticipate the Business Council of Australia—well known I would have thought to the shadow treasurer—are releasing yet other reports. I think their Regulation Rumble report is anticipated, which looks at states around the country and about how they are performing in issues such as red tape and regulation and whether or not it is the most conducive to getting business done. Let's wait and see what that report looks like. I think it will be instructive whether or not there is a question coming from this side of the chamber or that side of the chamber—time will tell, maybe when parliament resumes at some point in the new year.

We pay attention to these organisations. They often have thoughtful and considerate ideas, many of which have been taken up by the Minister for Small and Family Business because this government is committed to the interests of small business. I think we have seen examples of governments gone by that have paid lip service to caring about small business but they literally do nothing about it. This government is very different indeed.

Time expired.

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