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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-06-24 Daily Xml
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Riverbank Arena

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (14:23): My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline how much funding will be spent over the next two years on the Riverbank arena?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:23): Happy to do so—very little, because with the Riverbank arena, a very important job-creating project, essentially the income being generated largely from accessing larger conferences and conventions will not be completed until 2027-28.

The government's priority in this budget is very much about health, commencing the big build for the Women's and Children's Hospital at $1.95 billion, the $163.5 million commitment to mental health, the significant commitment towards the 74 additional ambulance officers, the ongoing commitment of the $110 million commenced over the last year towards increasing ED capacity within our system, and the various other initiatives which lead to this government, in our budget, spending almost $900 million more on health, which in the last Labor government budget the minister responsible was Mr Malinauskas.

The government proposition for the completion of the Riverbank arena in 2027-28 involves not one dollar being spent next year; it involves $10 million being spent the year after next. In the next two years, we obviously have challenges which need to be met and met now, not delayed for three, four, five, six, seven years through to 2027-28. But for the next two years and a little bit of this financial year still remaining, there will only be $10 million of taxpayers' funding committed towards the Riverbank arena.

The notion that a commitment not to proceed with spending the $10 million and diverting it in some way towards health will somehow solve the health problems that confront South Australia, when the Minister for Health's budget is a very healthy $7.4 billion—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: How much?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: It is $7.4 billion—$7,400 million—and there will be a budget in and of that order in the following year, so we are talking about $14 billion or $15 billion—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —being spent on health.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order on both sides! There is a point of order. The Treasurer will resume his seat.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: We have been going for quite some time, sir, and we have only heard a tangential answer to the question. The minister is not even answering his own member's question after many minutes of going on.

The PRESIDENT: Many minutes is not quite three. I am sure that in the remaining time the minister will conclusively answer the honourable member's question.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I am well within the designated period for answering my own backbench questions. It is almost $14 billion or $15 billion and, of that, almost $10 million equivalent will be spent on the Riverbank arena. So the notion that $10 million, when we are spending $14 billion or $15 billion, will make a jot of difference to the problems confronting health is palpable nonsense.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Hanson will cease interjecting. I think the Treasurer has concluded his answer. A supplementary question, the Leader of the Opposition.

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