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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-04-03 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

Malinauskas Labor Government

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (15:07): Whether it is our farmers, people in the regions or the most vulnerable South Australians, when they have needed this government the most, what has happened? This government has gone absolutely missing in action. This government was elected on a promise. Remember the corflutes, the right priorities with the little thumbs up in the corner. That was the ironclad commitment to the people of South Australia from this Premier. It is safe to say we can chalk that one up again as another broken promise.

What did the Premier prioritise just this past week? A chinwag with Greg Norman on the green to discuss redesigning a golf course over meeting our farmers amid a record-breaking drought. They say the right priorities—well, it is just another empty promise from just another politician. As we know, these broken promises continue to pile up, and pile up they do. Let's go through them.

They obviously promised to fix ramping. We know it has got worse. They promised to reduce electricity costs. Prices have skyrocketed—absolutely skyrocketed. They promised no new taxes, but what have we seen? Further and further price hikes, tax grabs left, right and centre. They promised more homes, but we know out of the four releases not even one slab has been laid and all while the Premier stands on podiums, on stages and on golf courses while our farmers, their families and their communities are doing it tougher than ever.

For around seven months, we have been calling on this government to take this drought seriously, not just with words but also with action. With many of my colleagues on this side of the chamber we have traversed all corners of the state. These people and their families have fed this state for generations. They are not asking for necessarily charity, but just genuine assistance—genuine assistance in what has probably been the toughest period that they have ever faced.

Just when things could not get worse, they have with today's announcement: devastating US tariffs are about to hit the sector, quite frankly, like a freight train. In South Australia, in the past we have exported 400,000 tonnes of beef and over 100,000 tonnes of sheep meat to the US. Our farmers are desperate for support but, instead of standing with them, this government has stood back and watched. Just today on radio, the Premier said that he was still considering—considering—how we calibrate the next round of support. Well, our farmers cannot wait for any more monitoring or calibrating or watching. They need support right now.

Why has this government been caught so flat-footed again? Where have they been this last year? How many more hits does our agriculture industry need to take before this government wakes up and actually does something meaningful? Let's go through some of the adversity: tomato brown rugose fruit virus, frost, drought, extreme weather, fruit fly outbreaks, labour shortages, the rising cost of inputs like energy, and now tariffs today. The list goes on. Unlike this city-centric Labor government, we have actually been out there listening to farmers, not waiting for political convenience or when it is too late to call for action. Farmers are tired, they are exhausted and they need support now. It does not stop at drought though.

On health, we know that South Australians are waiting longer to be seen in emergency at the moment than anywhere else in the country as the health system continues to endure pressure. South Australians are facing the worst ramping crisis in our history under this government, with the 33 worst months of ramping with patients. Paramedics have now spent more than 129,000 hours stuck outside our hospitals on the ramp since Labor was elected. This week, we called for free flu vaccinations for all South Australians. This is a simple, sensible measure, as they have done interstate, to protect our most vulnerable citizens and also to relieve pressure on our ailing health system.

What about on housing? We know that Adelaide is now the second least affordable capital city in the country to buy and also the least affordable to rent. We will need to take the gong over Sydney maybe on both fronts before this government actually acts. We have proposed smart, responsible reforms to unlock housing, such as releasing more land not suitable for farming. We have also called for supporting the training of apprentices and cutting payroll tax for employers who take on these apprentices to build our skilled workforce. We want to see more homes built quicker and cheaper.

Of course, then we have child protection. Nowhere is the failure of this government clearer than in child protection. We will continue to hold this government to account because, unlike this government, we are not just here for the good times and the cameras. We are here for the people of our state. South Australians are tired of the slogans. Promises that are made are promises that must be kept, and that is exactly what we will deliver if given the opportunity to get elected to government.

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