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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-11-29 Daily Xml
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Labor Government

The Hon. B.R. HOOD (15:41): Today, I rise to speak on the 12 days of Christmas, but rather than traditional Christmas carols, involving turtle-doves, pipers and partridges in pear trees, this version is courtesy of the Malinauskas and Albanese Labor governments and unfortunately involves no gifts of joy, especially for regional South Australia.

On the first day of Christmas, Labor have pulled funding for our regional roads. The Albanese government have just ripped out $400 million worth of vital infrastructure funding for our state, and five important projects have been cut across regional South Australia.

On the second day of Christmas, Labor wanted to take away the gift of a previous federal government that granted us funding for radiotherapy in the Limestone Coast. Luckily, this cruel gift may be actually given back because of the 16,000 locals of the Limestone Coast who signed a petition asking for this vital service to be brought back. We certainly hope that this Malinauskas Labor government listens to those 16,000 people.

On the third day of Christmas, Labor have failed to deliver on regional road safety. They have gifted us a paltry $1.25 million per year for four years for their regional road safety package and regional road safety infrastructure. Meanwhile, a whopping $40 million is going towards a roundabout upgrade in Mount Barker, which the state government concedes is not actually even classed as regional.

On the fourth day, Labor gifted Mount Gambier's poorly serviced public transport system an eight-year contract. The state's second biggest city continues to be serviced by a bus contract deemed unsuitable for a population of 6,000 people.

On the fifth day of Christmas, they gifted us all the spiralling cost-of-living crisis. Homegrown inflation driven by economic mismanagement has gifted to all South Australians unaffordable grocery prices, spiralling house costs and the highest inflation in the country. Under the Malinauskas government, South Australian families are a staggering $400 a week worse off, and it is even worse in the regions.

On the sixth day of Christmas, we have the gift of soaring energy prices. This government's solution is to build an experimental $600 million plus hydrogen plant that they admit will not even lower power prices for residential homes.

On the seventh day of Christmas, Labor have given the gift of decimating river communities through their fixation on water buybacks. Instead of focusing on maintaining agricultural productivity through efficiency projects, this lazy Labor government have chosen the easy option that will ensure communities lose out, as will consumers.

On the eighth day of Christmas, Labor delivered us a housing crisis. Regional towns are crying out for worker housing to cater for the growing demand of labour. In Bordertown, they are going to build up to 60 homes when SA Water says that you really cannot even turn on a tap in Bordertown.

On the ninth day, Labor is gifting the Limestone Coast 27 mobile phone towers—or are they? They actually cannot answer whether the federal government is going to commit the money to that project.

On the tenth day, Labor is failing to provide birthing services to expectant mothers in the regions. Kapunda, Whyalla, Waikerie, Kangaroo Island and Gawler have all faced disruptions this year to their birthing services. Jesus was born in a manger, and maybe Labor are hoping for the same thing for regional women as well.

On the eleventh day, Labor are letting regional school infrastructure crumble. In the South-East alone we have transportable classrooms being condemned, significant structural issues, collapsing walls, insufficient space for student discussions, and the presence of asbestos.

Finally, on the twelfth day of Christmas, Labor have gifted us record ramping. Despite their pledge to 'Vote Labor like your life depends on it', last month we had the worst ramping compared with any other month in the previous government's four years in office. Sick patients and stressed paramedics waited a full 3,322 hours in October stuck on ramps waiting to be seen. It is a cruel gift that impacts our state's most vulnerable.

These are the 12 sorry days of Christmas, thanks to the grinch that is the Labor Malinauskas government. South Australians, particularly in the regions, deserve better than the lump of coal that this state government has popped under the tree for this state.

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