Business confidence plummets under Labor

Thursday 10 October, 2024

South Australian business confidence has plummeted, according to the most recent Roy Morgan Business Confidence Survey.

According to the September survey, business confidence in South Australia slumped an alarming 13.4 points to 87.3, the second lowest in the nation.

 

Most worryingly for South Australia, the sector with the lowest business confidence is the agriculture industry, at just 75.7.

Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia said the failure of the Premier to take the challenges facing the agricultural sector seriously is behind the slump.

 

“The outbreak of tomato brown rugose fruit virus was effectively ignored until the Premier was forced into confronting the problem,” Mr Tarzia said.

 

“While Party Pete talks himself up in front of pop stars, our agricultural, retail and construction sectors are feeling the pinch.

 

“Labor needs to focus on the issues that matter to South Australian households and less on his personal popularity ratings.

 

Mr Tarzia said that the decline in confidence in the construction sector reflected badly on the hopes of aspiring homebuyers in South Australia.

 

“The negative confidence of the construction sector, combined with a plunge in overall SA business confidence, shows how the government has failed on improving housing affordability.

 

“Under Labor, first homebuyers have fewer options, and rents continue to rise due to a lack of supply.

 

Shadow Treasurer Sam Telfer said the figures indicate an underlying softness in the South Australian economy.

 

"These latest business confidence numbers are truly concerning and are reflective of what the Opposition is hearing from our engagement amongst businesses right across our state.

 

"The Treasurer has boasted of South Australia’s economic performance, but we currently have the lowest business confidence in mainland Australia, so I worry that the Treasurer is disconnected from what is actually going on within our state's economy.

 

“The fact that the agriculture sector, which provides more than half of South Australia’s overseas exports, is worried about the future is an indictment on the performance of this government, especially for regional SA."