2024 Budget Reply Speech

it is my uh privilege to be the opposition's lead speaker today in providing the opposition's uh budget reply contribution uh Mr Speaker I want to firstly uh Begin by acknowledging the treasurer uh for his contribution to our state I think it is important to do so and to thank him and his officials uh and um staff for their uh development of this budget there are H it is an important role uh and while there are many uh aspects of uh our state's policy platform in this budget that we may not agree on equally there are many things that we do agree on uh and I work collaboratively with the treasurer on numerous things and thank him for that uh as I did in my contribution to last year's budget uh I want to highlight uh some things that it is critically important that the opposition and the government support one another on there are a range of things in this budget uh that uh we acknowledge we are grateful to see in the budget and that that are important to build South Australia's future no more so uh than support for uh the Aus agreement uh which is a nation building uh initiative H an an initiative so important for our nation's security uh that it is too significant to fail we will work hand in in hand where appropriate with the government in the Fulfillment of South Australia's contribution to Aus acknowledging the very significant challenges that face our state that face this government that face future governments with regard to the heavy lifting required by South Australia but I do think it is important to put on the record uh that while we will carefully scrutinize the journey towards South Australia's contribution to aus we do support and a with a high degree of bipartisanship that final outcome that South Australia as a jurisdiction uh plays a incredibly significant role in our nation's security uh and also uh will gain very significant uh Economic Development opportunities if we can rise to this occasion the premier has rightfully identified significant challenges particularly with regard to skills uh and there will be others along the way uh but uh this opposition will work appropriately and hand in hand with the government as we move towards that the premier and I have both had the opportunity uh to visit uh Aus related sites in the United Kingdom myself uh over recent days and each time I have visited and I believe the premier shares this view we have seen the momentous challenge that will be required by this state this budget begins to respond to those challenges uh both uh with uh infrastructure contributions and also uh skills development opportunities more will be needed in the future the opposition will highlight those things where appropriate but it is good to see this budget make the start of that contribution Mr Speaker another area of significant bipartisan support that we will offer this government is around the northern water initiative uh renamed by the government uh as the state Prosperity plan uh this is a significant nation building project for our state it was initiated uh under the previous liberal government and we will work with the government as they seek to fulfill uh the potential that northern water has there are aspects uh of that initiative which uh require more scrutiny over time particularly with regard to hydrogen but in terms of unleashing uh the potential of the resources sector uh in the heart of our state this is an initiative uh worth pursuing uh and it is good to see this initiative supported in the budget as well other initiatives around business events skills housing interchange upgrades at Mount Barka just a few of the things that we think are worth highlighting uh as uh worthy uh aspect off the state's budget it is important that the opposition uh that the Govern the opposition Provide support to these sorts of initiatives we cannot be an opposition for the sake of opposition winging and carping at every uh every initiative of the government and while often what is projected through the media for for uh justifiable reasons are points of disagreement it is important to stand here today and highlight that there are many times when governments and oppositions agree they have conversations uh about how that agreement can be uh forged and uh they deliver a degree of bipartisanship which is future focused for our state Mr Speaker it is how however important for me as leader of the opposition to highlight the areas of difference between the opposition and the government when it comes to this budget and we do believe that there are a range of areas where this budget misses the Mark I want to talk about those areas while providing uh various areas of focus that we would have uh if we occupied the treasury benches which were different Mr Speaker the the 2024 state budget uh is Labor's third budget since being elected to office and in many ways I would would characterize it as a budget from the weather all era a budget which too often trads water fails to respond to some of the significant challenges of our times and which is unfortunately backed up by media and social media spin it shines a light I believe into a government which has missed some significant opportunities and feeds a fairly narrow base of vested interests while perhaps failing to respond significantly to the needs of some of South Australia's most at need groups one thing that is for certain is that this is a government which believes that all it needs to do is throw money at problems rather than and spend money telling people it's growing money at problems rather than taking on some significant reforms as an opposition we believe that reform opportunities are particularly being missed when it comes to taxation reforms uh reforms within our health sector uh and reforms within the area of energy Security in South Australia the government I believe is reform shy preferring to keep its H head in the sand when it comes to some of those bigger issues that confront the state the government is happy to take credit for good news but it ignores distracts or disappears when bad news confronts our state we know there are significant Global headwinds uh confronting Australia and South Australia at the moment the treasurer alluded to those in his budget speech the good times can't continue and unfortunately it appears that this budget uh through borrowing attempts to sustain those good times closer towards the 2026 state election uh while failing to grasp some of those key areas for reform when a reporter a commentator makes negative comments about this state we don't tend to hear about it from the government we don't get a response but when there's a positive contribution from a from a commentator or or analyst it gets trumpeted uh loudly from social media and media releases you only need to take a look at the premier's at social media platforms to see that in full flight but Mr Speaker there are tough times increasingly approaching South Australia and in many ways they're already here we know that the average South Australian house household is some $20,000 wor worse off than they were just 18 months ago that is a combination uh of higher interest rates energy bills groceries fuels and other Essentials uh that people have no way of avoiding uh spending their hard-earned money on it's difficult for people to get a hold of an extra $20,000 a year that can mean very significant sacrifices but in some cases it can mean losing businesses or losing their homes some of these issues have Global contributions that have resulted uh in that additional uh expenditure needing to be achieved by the average household however some of those challenges are homeg grown and we know that inflation in Australia is increasingly homeg grown uh by significant expenditure at both federal and state levels Mr Speaker there is a gulf between the premier's social media Mirage and life on the ground in the communities that I come across as I travel around our suburbs and regions just take a recent post in the premier's Facebook page trumpeting and presumably taking credit for the comparative economic Outlook which ranks South Australia favorably against other jurisdictions the comments under the premier's post were telling I find that a little hard to believe mate really talk to a small business owner cost of living is killing all of us pop up Pete's Fantasy Land I think he's breathing too much hydrogen this blocks lost touch with the public they are on a completely different planet these statements show the government's 10 year when it comes to what everyday South Australians are enduring life is at the moment and the government would be well advised to dial back the arrogance on the social media platforms and show a little empathy Mr Speaker it is incredibly important for political parties uh of any P ideological persuasion to be very clear in 2024 about what and who they stand for the Liberal Party of South Australia must be clear about those things be upfront with South Australians that if elected we will govern for everyone but there are particular groups who can expect us to have their backs there are particular groups of people who can expect us to be their strong voice and Advocate within the Parliament and when leading this state it is also important that those groups and the broader Community know exactly what the Liberal Party of South Australia stands for knows what our values are Mr Speaker we will be the party of opportunity forging Pathways where people can be proud of investing a little bit of their money A Bit of their energy a bit of their skill to get ahead to create opportunity for themselves perhaps a little bit of wealth for themselves for family members for their community Through the creation of economic activity through the creation of jobs we must be the p of opportunity we must be the party of Freedom the party that acknowledges that people have inherent potential to get ahead and they they don't necessarily need the government to give them a hand out at every step of the way we don't want people to be addicted to government handouts we want people to stand and they on to feet and I believe that it is inherent in the human psyche that they want to do that themselves as well we value people and their freedom Beyond identity politics and we have to avoid the cancer of identity politics which I believe is paralyzing modern democracies Across the Western World it shouldn't matter your gender your sexuality your social economic status it shouldn't matter your race which is why we are so strongly opposed to race-based Politics as characterized by the proposed voice to Federal Parliament and of course this state voice which was initiated here in South Australia I believe against the wishes of many South Australians we must avoid identity politics and the victimhood that is injected into identity politics which potentially keeps people addicted to government support instead valuing the individual lifting them up and giving them Pathways to opportunity and success Pathways to Freedom we must be the party of home ownership the dream of home ownership is slipping away from too many Australians under the age of 40 and we must keep that dream alive because we know when Australians invest in a home when they buy their home they invest in a community as well they invest in the local school they invest in the local parks they invest in local sporting clubs they invest psychologically they invest spiritually they invest financially home ownership is an incredible part of the Australian dream and having your little patch of Australia is an important part of that there is nothing wrong with renting there is absolutely nothing wrong with renting and we need to look for ways to support renters as well but Pathways to home ownership for people from all walks of life is so critically important that is why we put on the table a couple of weeks ago our policies around stamp Duty reform and we were pleased to see the government uh make a decision in this budget uh to remove uh the uh the the upper threshold for Access uh to stamp juty relief for first home buyers of newly constructed homes but we do believe there is Need for some relief for homeowners making first homeowners making that initial decision to buy an established home because we know that is the best best majority of homeowners the vast majority of homeown first homeowners start off with a small unit and that is something we need to provide some support for as well so that is why uh we have made the decision to take to the 2026 election uh unless it is committed to before uh that by the government it doesn't appear that it will be we have taken the decision to provide stamp juty relief up to $10,000 to First homeowners who decide to purchase an existing home within our state and it is so important to acknowledge and to highlight that we are now in fact the only jurisdiction which does not have that relief in place for our existing properties uh and we do need to align to other states we do need to keep the dream of home ownership alive Miss Mr Speaker we want to be the party of the family and that can take many different forms in 2024 many many different forms but we believe that the family in whatever form that it takes is the best place to raise a children and is best to to raise children and is the best place to make decisions for children and for the communities in which those families are located in the coming months we'll have a lot more to say about the child protection system and I'm working with the member for heist and the shadow Minister for f child protection on ideas that will build more resilient families and will work to keep families together families are important Mr Speaker and we must be the party of the family we must be the party of less government intervention less government bureaucracy and as a an ex an A A extension of that the party of less taxation that is why we have put on the table the uh payroll tax policy which would see the payroll tax threshold in South Australia rise from $1.5 million to $2.1 million and exempt trainees and apprentices from the calculation towards payroll tax thresholds as well these are important policies to support small and medium-sized businesses in our state they are powerful policies that will release many many businesses in this state who have found themselves unexpectedly paying payroll tax due to wages growth across our nation it will free them from this payroll tax able to take some of that money home and importantly invest some of that into their business to grow in other ways it it is perverse that pay pay old tax is a handbreak on business growth in this state on the employment of people uh in jobs that could transform their lives I hear time and time again people who decide to sell components of their business or not grow their business at all because it will push them into the payroll tax thresholds that Mr Speaker means it is a tax and jobs is it is a tax and opportunity and is it is attacks which actually hurts vulnerable people who do not have job opportunities perhaps more than business owners in themselves Mr Speaker I said a moment ago it is so important that any political party governs for all South Australians but is very clear about the people that they specifically stand for the people who we will advocate for if fortunate enough to form government in the case of the liberal party we will be the greatest Advocates you will find for small and family businesses in this state we have a Heritage of being the party of small business and we must ensure we are continually the party of small business that means the party of our tradies the party of apprentices people who aspire to create small businesses of the future the party of startups the party of entrepreneurs we must be clear about that we must be signaling to those people that we are the party for them we are the party for their families we are the party for their employees Mr Speaker those are the people who we stand for we respect them for their contribution to our state and we acknowledge that they take their work home with them every single night small businesses are not 9 to5 jobs small businesses are at the dining room table small businesses are in the bedroom they're in the backyard they're on the school run small businesses dominate the lives of small business owners that can be a good thing in the good times when a passion is being turned into a source of income but when things get tough it can be incredibly difficult and that is why small business needs to be able to rely on a party within this building that will have their backs and be their voice Mr Speaker we are the party of regional South Australia we must be clear about this we must continually advocate for our regions we must visit our regions we must build up knowledge and understanding of our regions in order to represent those regions effectively there is no such place really as Regional South Australia there are many different communities that are not homogeneous communities which have different challenges and shared challenges those shared challenges wrap around the tyranny of distance and access to resources and services often government services uh however there are many many benefits of living in Regional South Australia as well there are beautiful places they are places with high degrees of community a sense of belonging a sense of purpose Regional South Australia lives well above its weight not just from an economic point of view but in terms of contributing to the very Fabric and DNA of South Australia we are the party of regional communities we are the party of our Farmers the party of our food and fiber producers we know that in recent years many of our Farmers have had good times and we celebrate that with them but we know uh that that is a cyclical process uh and uh with challenges around our climate and the variability of our climate there is no doubt difficult times on the horizons my signal is that to our food and fiber producers across our state we are there for you we're the party of our veterans people who have served our nation we must be their voice too often they return uh from service or from training uh with significant challenges challenges uh obtained in their personal lives as a result of serving their nation and that extends to their families as as well we must be their voice we are the party I believe of our Multicultural communities the party that will stand up for their faith their stories their Customs their Traditions their languages Multicultural communities migrants give so much to south Australia and almost everyone in our Parliament uh can trace their families back uh a couple of generations uh maybe six or seven not many more than that we are a nation of migrants we're a state of migrants it is what uh makes our state such a great place and we must ensure that they feel comfortable uh that what they bring to Australia is supported celebrated and protected Mr Speaker across all those different categories of certain groups that I've highlighted that the Liberal Party stands for above all we stand for people who want to work hard want to invest in our communities and want to give back to Australia and South Australia we want to reward Merit we want to reward the ethic of work uh and we want to ensure that people who do that feel rewarded and can continue to do so Mr Speaker that frames what the Liberal Party stands for and some of the groups we will particularly support through our policy agenda and I want to reflect particularly uh on some areas of focus that we think that the government isn't necessarily responding to from a reformist point of view and that this budget did not necessarily support as it should have Mr Speaker our health system is in crisis there's no doubt about that and it was not the liberal party that set the metric in the lead up to the 22 2022 state election that we would fix the ramping crisis that was the labor party's metric and it was a decision that they took to create an impression in the state of South Australia that they had a silver bullet to fix the ramping crisis shame now I could go through lots of Statistics today I'll only go through one at the moment that is that in February 2022 some 1500 hours were lost by our paramedics and patients to the hospital ramp in South Australia in the month of May 2024 the most recent recordable month of ramping statistics in this state that figure has stood at close to 5,000 hours Mr Speaker that figure that statistic is translated into real people it's translated into vulnerable patients in ambulances waiting for care and it is translated into paramedics and other clinicians struggling to do their jobs in the face of ramping being out of control our emergency departments are too often on cold white our hospital system is too often in cold yellow in a permanent state of emergency in a permanent state of Crisis Mr Speaker I do not believe that this is just about throwing money at the problem we welcome additional funding for Hospital infrastructure and Hospital Personnel that is needed but it is clear something more is needed because money is not moving the dial when it comes to outcomes outcomes are going dramatically backwards across a range of metrics we need more than that we need system reform there are particular areas which the opposition would focus on I have outlined them before and I will briefly touch on them today because they weren't focused on in this state budget as much as I would not only have liked but as much as I thought they would have been I was surprised that our mental health system in South Australia did not get more attention from this state budget I was genuinely surprised by the budget papers which announced an additional 5 million or so over the next half a decade and mental health support when we know that we need tens of millions of dollars of additional support in our mental health system in this state that is known as our mental Health's unmet need the shadow Minister for mental health and myself have been focused relentlessly on this working with the sector and we've made a very clear commitment uh that if elected we will work to meet the unmet need in our mental health system what does that unmet need look like well it looks like almost 20,000 patients not getting access to the support and services that they need that is 20,000 people with family members and with other people in their communities who are also vulnerable because of their mental health challenges vulnerable in terms of their safety and too often we see that bubble out in the public domain but also vulnerable in terms of coming up with ways to support family members and friends and other contacts even colleagues at times in a way that they don't feel equipped to do and which they're quite frankly simply not able to or qualified to do Mr Speaker the unmet need in this state's mental health system is a disgrace a crisis and this opposition is determined to work towards fulfilling that unmet need we're working with stakeholders particularly the mental health Coalition of South Australia to understand how that unmet need can be fulfilled what that looks like in terms of the distribution of infrastructure and Personnel on the ground so that we can provide to South Australians a robust mental health policy platform over the coming weeks months and years Mr Speaker the role of the general practitioner in South Australia is a critical role it's a critical role across the whole of our country and we know that too often our GPS are not feeling supported not not feeling protected in their jobs not feeling celebrated not that they do the job for to be celebrated but across a gamut of reasons GPS are leaving the sector are choosing not to follow that profession in the first place we have to do immense work in building up the traditional role of the GP ensuring that there are enough GPS in Metropolitan Adelaide and Regional South Australia because the the further you get from Adela the problem which is present in Adela just gets worse and worse and worse and we know in some regions I highlight the air peninsula in particular it is almost impossible to find a GP within an acceptable time frame we need to work alongside GPS to provide them with support and to ensure that they have access to the resources that they need to do their job we need to look for ways that we can get out of their way and give them the freedom to do their job appropriately and in a financially viable way as well and we know that the state government's decision to charge payroll tax to General Practitioners is a potentially threatening situation for the viability the sustainability of many General Practitioners across our state a decision by the government taken in the leadup to this budget uh to exempt bulk billing GPS uh from payroll tax was a welcome decision but it is the opposition's very firm View and the firm view of many general practitioners and their representatives across this state that that simply didn't go far enough so Mr Speaker I can signal today that if elected in 2026 the liberal party uh will broaden that exemption to include all GP consultations not just bulk billing consultations but much but all GP consultations to ensure that there is no situation where GPS are having to charge between 10 and $20 more for a consultation which could put a significant number of people off going to see their GP could threaten the very viability of GP practices across our state and as a consequence could push people towards the hospital ramp towards the emergency department and towards a situation of vulnerability that we believe is simply unacceptable our general practitioners in South Australia deserve our support we will be the voice for General Practitioners in this state and we will exempt them from this payroll tax decision Mr Speaker South Australia is not as safe as it should be across a whole range of categories of crime south Australians are enduring more crime than they have in recent years there may be many reasons for that and some people ascribe the cost of living crisis to that but that cannot be used as an excuse no government and the government hasn't done this uh nor will I no government or aspiring government should ascribe soaring crime rats to cost of living challenges it is not acceptable to put that excuse on the table and the liberal party will not instead we need to find ways uh to fight crime and to discourage crime and the opposition is incredibly focused on working with stakeholders including the South Australian police and their representative bodies organizations like neighborhood watch and Crim Stoppers to ensure that we get in front of this crime wave that is grabbing hold of particular parts of our state south Australia's police forces has endured considerable pain in recent years our policemen and women were asked to do things that they never signed up to do during the covid-19 pandemic and the morale within the police force is shattered those things were unexpected and there were a range of reasons for those but with morale so low too many people are leaving our police force too many senior officers too many officers with very significant experience too many officers who are mentors to younger officers with too many good police officers leaving the police force the secondary problem that we're facing is the pipeline of new recruits is far too insignificant the number coming in the front door as others leave through the back door simply is not sustainable our police force is around 200 police officers short of where it needs to be to have a full complement of active police in this state but in fact our police force could easily do with several hundred more police officers to reach a point where it can work towards a sustainable level of policing which ensures that morale is high and mentoring across the police force is sustainable as well headline funds in the budget for a digital police station and telephone resolution capability are quite frankly embarrassing at best this should be core business within our police force not something nothing to shout from the rooftops we need more police on the beat not a website and across our state our police force is exhausted and stretching to breaking point we need incentives on the table to encourage people to stay in the force through pay and conditions and to attract police officers to south Australia from Interstate and in particular overseas we know that there have been success successful overseas recruitment processes in the past we know that there is a seemingly quite successful recruitment process flagged at the moment we need to make sure that the proof is in the pudding with regard to that uh that recruitment process the officers stay in the force once once they become part of it and that they commit to a fulfilling career as police officers in this state we also need to appropriately resource our policing no more so than in Regional South Australia and I will talk a little bit more about that in a moment Mr Speaker South Australia is currently navigating the energy trilemma energy security emissions reduction and energy affordability and things are not going well in this state as we attempt to navigate that trilemma households are nearly $700 worse off per anom and small businesses more than $1,250 worse off since labor was elected to office in this state the former liberal government reduced power prices by over $400 with the situation quickly but perhaps unsurprisingly unraveling since the change of government the Liberal Party supports a sensible pathway towards emissions reduction but we believe that achieving Net Zero by 2050 is currently impossible possible in Australia without dramatic advancements in technological solutions or the or the deployment of a nuclear energy strategy for our nation the labor government at both state and federal level have taken a very different approach to the challenge of energy security emissions reduction and affordability with the Holy Grail of hydrogen being touted as a savior while the liberal party acknowledges that hydrogen is a fuel of the future we simply don't know what this looks like nor when in the future it will eventuate while I said earlier we support the labor government's northern water initiative and many of the other outcomes that could very well well be spurred by that investment the labor party's pursuit of their hydrogen power plant in the upper Spencer Gulf region has too many question marks AC above its it's Financial viability its delivery dates and its ability to deliver the outcomes that we expect for it for us to actively support one thing we do know by the government and the premier on emission it will not reduce energy prices in South Australia and I fear having talked to Industry stakeholders across our state nation and the globe that this could end up being a white elephant in our state Mr Speaker in my 2023 budget reply speech I canest in light of the groundbreaking orus agreement and with nuclear powered submarines being built in South Australia in the coming decades it would be prudent to undertake the serious consideration of the the establishment of a civil nuclear energy program in our state through the possible reopening or a second chapter of the scarce Royal commission into the nuclear fuel cycle it has been 8 years since the final report of the royal commission and technological advancements and the broader acceptance of nuclear energy as a low emissions and stable energy source have seen a change in the mood within the community over that time today Mr Speaker I can announce that if elected in 2026 a liberal government will establish a royal commission into the creation of a civil nuclear energy sector in South Australia this couldn't include undertaking a review of the mileston approach as set out by the international atomic energy agency and supporting guidance to ensure that the state is well informed about the process should the federal prohibition on nuclear energy be removed moved this is about nuclear Readiness and we would refer to this raw commission as South Australia's raw Commission on nuclear Readiness the review could investigate the economics and system costs for the South Australian energy grid as well as any other economic opportunities a civilian industry would provide for the overall South Australian economy countries looking to introduce civil nuclear are Guided by the iaea Milestones publication which requires approximately 10 years of Preparatory work to the first reactor coming online this work needs to be done now because things could change in the future those could be technological advancements with regard to small modular reactors they could be significant changes in public mood and we believe that public mood is already swinging significantly in that direction it could be a realization by the Labor uh party that they've got this all wrong whatever the reason we should be prepared for this and now is the time to begin that work critics and labor argue cost barriers and lack of Australian Bas skills in nuclear energy are the reasons we cannot Advance this work I would counter that there are likely more barriers to the success of Labor's experimental hydrogen Frolic than there are to proven nuclear technologies currently in place right across the globe it is time for Australia to mature in our relationship with the nuclear fuel cycle and with the Aus deal advancing in a way that I think most South Australians and certainly most parliamentarians are exceptionally proud of there is surely no better time to move towards a nuclear Readiness future Mr Speaker I have already mentioned in my contribution today that South Australians regions give so much to our state they produce world-class food and fiber provide us with amazing destinations which attract visitors from all over the world and are an amazing place to call home since becoming leader of the Liberal Party of South Australia I have traveled the length and breadth of our state many times over visiting M Gambia 10 times time the Limestone coast region 12 times the air Peninsula and the Riverland five times and the upper Spencer Gulf region some eight times these numbers alone are however meaningless because it is the depth and quality of the visits that matter almost all of my trips to Regional South Australian South Australia have been overnight visits some up to three nights they have involved meeting with local business owners with Community Champions with progress associate associations with agricultural bureaus with rdas with local councils Mayors and Council CEOs with tourism operators with farmers in their pedics Mr Speaker respecting Regional South Australia means turning up it means turning up for longer uh than it takes to have a selfie taken in a padic and heading back to Adelaide in your shiny Aron Williams boots Mr Speaker it means building real relationships relationships very different than our Premier is willing to build in Regional South Australia it means being their voice and their Advocate and turning up again and again and again Mr Speaker I signal very clear policy directions today that the liberal party is setting out for regional growth Regional r and Regional policing we should be ambitious for growth in Regional South Australia our regional cities should and can be bigger than they currently are but they can only grow with the corresponding Health transport housing and educational infrastructure developed and rolled out alongside any population growth plan these should also be shaped by economic imperatives tailored to specific regions along the way I have asked the shadow Minister for population Regional population growth Sam tiler to develop a plan for regional population growth across our state and we will work with local councils and other stakeholders to to ensure that our growth targets and strategies are both realistic and meet the needs expectations and Ambitions of our regional communities we have seen a debacco unfold far too close to Adelaide when Regional population planning is not achieved well and that has happened just up the Southeastern freeway in the town of Mount Barker this is a case study and Regional planning done poorly and we cannot have that occur in this state again it cannot happen in our periurban communities and it can not happen in our truly Regional communities it must not happen in the flua peninsula around the communities of Encounter Bay Victor Harbor Port Elliot Middleton and Goa the announcement that Goa is to absorb several thousand additional homes over the coming years in some ways could be welcomed by that Community but not not if it's not backed up by appropriate Community infrastructure and I'm working with the member for finis to explore policy solutions for his Rel his region in particular because that is the next Mount Barker get brought To Us by the labor government if we do not get that right Mr Speaker hand in hand with regional population growth but also not even attached to Regional population growth because the importance is so current is the need to invest in our region roads and if elected in 2026 the Liberal Party of South Australia will spend more on Regional roads than the labor government we will spend more on Regional Road construction and we will spend more on Regional Road maintenance when I travel around Regional South Australia the top two issues raised with me are regional health and I've talked today about some of the things we would do and Health Service provision across the state and we have a shadow Minister for regional health in this Shadow cabinet providing a clear signal that regional health will be at the heart of our Health Solutions for this state but the second most common thing I hear raised in Regional South Australia is the condition and viability of our regional roads we need to invest more in our regional roads we need people traveling to and from our regions traveling across our regions moving Freight in and out of our regions we need them to be able to do so confidently that they can return home to their families and we also need them to do so in a way that enhances productivity of our regions as well our regional roads are not up to scratch we have commenced a community engagement campaign uh called report your road sa I've been working on that with the honorable Nicolas Caan and The Honorable Ben hood and Adrien Pedic in this place to ensure that we have a good understanding of where the investment is needed where the community expects the investment to be made and where our roads need to be improved urgently from a safety point of view the Liberal Party of South Australia is the party of regional roads we will invest more in Regional roads Mr Speaker there are too many Regional Police stations which are closed today their doors are shut the shutters are down there is a sign out the front but there are no police officers operating in them and member for wets the member for chaffy continually raises concerns in his Riverland Community about police stations which are not operating at capacity we know that there are many examples of police stations without officers in charge on the air Peninsula and in the southeast of our state Regional policing needs to be respected it needs to be supported it needs to be promoted once again as a career of choice which it is not at the moment because police recruits and police graduates know that if you end up in Regional South Australia it is a it is a lonely unforgiving job too often we need to get back to the role of the regional police officer in the same way as I've alluded to we need to get back to the role of the traditional Regional general practitioner to often these roles have been forgotten they've been allowed to weather on the vine and the Liberal Party of South Australia will work alongside the Police Association of this state to Define what a regional police officer looks like the resources they need and the investment that is needed in our regional policing infrastructure to ensure that our regions are safe places to go home Regional South Australia matters to this party and we will be the party that invests in our regions not ignores our regions here Mr Speaker South Australia's levels of debt are of exceptional concern and growing concern to too many South Australians South Australian businesses understand what it means to carry too much debt increasingly South Australian households are feeling the pain of carrying too much debt and that pain will soon be exacerbated as opportunities are limited for people in this state particularly future generation Generations if we do not get a debt reduction strategy in place for South Australia the liberal party has always been the party that has an eye to debt reduction and there have been times when debt is good when debt is useful when cheap debt has enabled this state to grow it occurred under the leadership of Thomas Playford and it occurred under the leadership of Steven Marshall there is opportunity to build this state and to create nation building and State Building infrastructure when debt levels and uh and and borrowing rates are low but we're getting to the point Mr Speaker where South Australia's debt levels are painfully High and the handbreak on future Generations is becoming scary it is imperative that in coming budget in the coming budget uh in 2025 that our state treasurer outlines a debt reduction Strate y for this state the liberal opposition will certainly be putting on the table strategies for debt reduction into the medium term because there is me there are many reasons to borrow today there will always be many reasons to borrow there will always be more reasons to borrow more but unless we have an eye to debt reduction in the future we will be punishing future Generations by settling them with generational debt which may end up unaffordable and unsustainable the liberal party has a reputation for responsible economic management that is what South Australians expect off us but it shouldn't just be for us to do that there is a key role going forward for the government to outline how it's going to get the expenditure of government Department under control in the last two budgets we have seen outrageous overspending by government departments their budgets are not even guidelines for their expenditure programs anymore they spend the debt is Forgiven and they spend again we saw it in the 2023 budgetary period we've seen it in the 2024 budgetary period and it seems to be projected as a method of doing business by our government agencies and our chief Executives when into the future there is a fiscal ill discipline built into this budget and we must stop forgiving poor fiscal Behavior poor fiscal discipline and start seeing strategies in place for pushing down our debt levels in this state we cannot continue in this trajectory 44 billion doar worth of debt on the books headed into 2028 but will it be 44 with the budget overruns that we've seen in the last couple of years it will end up much much higher than that it will push 50 billion based on this trajectory by next year's budget I am sure this is scary for our state it is time that this government started to employ the principles of sound money acting like a household or a small business getting their house in order so that future Generations are not settled with levels of debt that are simply unsustainable Mr Speaker I highlighted a range of issues in this budget that we agree with because we are not going to provide opposition for the sake of opposition I've highlighted what this party stands for and who we seek to provide high levels of advoc advocacy for and Mr Speaker I have outlined some of the areas of deep concern that we've got for this budget and policy proposals that we will take to the 2026 state election and Beyond we're a serious opposition Mr Speaker we are doing significant policy development in an active and energetic Shadow cabinet we are engaging with Peak bodies and stakeholders from every corner of this state and over the coming months as we get closer to the 2026 election we will build on the themes that I've outlined today the specific policies that I've outlined today and take a policy platform that reforms this state reforms this state around the principles and values that you should expect of a liberal party in this state and this nation I commend the opposition's approach to the house and look forward to hearing from my colleagues as they make their contributions over the coming hours