Today’s State Budget delivers no new vision for South Australia, showing Labor is out of money and out of ideas.
The Budget has no new plan to solve the housing crisis, no plan to bring down power bills and no plan to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis.
Instead, Labor is steering South Australia towards a debt iceberg – which will grow to a mammoth $48.5 billion by 2028-29, the largest debt in our history.
Labor also has no plan to pay this staggering debt back, which will cost almost $7 million a day in interest alone.
Leader of the Opposition, Vincent Tarzia said at a time when hardworking South Australians are being crushed by the rising cost-of-living, Labor has offered no meaningful relief.
“The debt iceberg will sink the dreams of future South Australians” Mr Tarzia said.
“What’s abundantly clear is that Labor is completely out of touch with the needs of South Australians and instead, is frivolously whittling away taxpayer dollars on vanity projects that don’t deliver any relief from sky-high energy prices, water bills and the housing crisis.
“A budget like this leaves South Australia vulnerable to economic shocks, which could come from any direction in the current economic climate.
“My message to South Australians is - when Labor runs out of money, they’re coming after yours, like they are with water bill increases.”
Instead of taking responsibility for their failure to manage spending, Labor is laying the blame on South Australian farmers battling the worst drought in recent history and the Whyalla Steelworks bailout.
“To blame the hit to our bottom line on our in-crisis farmers and the Whyalla Steelworks is quite frankly insulting when Government departments have blown their budgets by a combined $1.6 billion,” Shadow Treasurer, Sam Telfer said.
“Whyalla was meant to be funded by the hundreds of millions set aside for the failed Hydrogen Project, and now it’s coming at a cost to the taxpayer.
“What we have seen today is economic mismanagement on a colossal scale, with the Government posting record debt levels, despite receiving record revenue.
“Labor has gone on a spending spree with the taxpayer funded credit card and we have little to show for it – with not a single major election promise delivered."
At the same time as gouging South Australians with increases to water bills and hikes above CPI to the Emergency Services Levy, the Malinauskas Labor Government is expecting to rake in even more revenue in the future.
“The Government is pointing to their investment in more speed cameras as a road safety measure, meanwhile this is forecast to rake in more than $303 million for its $48.6 million investment,” Mr Tarzia said.
“Labor is saying this is a ‘law-and-order’ budget, but their investment in law-and-order falls well short.
“It also promises to recruit 243 additional police officers by 2028-29, yet the Government has not been able to fill the current vacancies to combat the rising crime wave."
Mr Telfer concluded that propping up the economy by burdening South Australians with stamp duty, levies, fines and penalties is unsustainable and unfair.
“The next generation of South Australians will be left with a $50 billion hangover when Labor’s party is over,” Mr Telfer said.
