Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Medicare) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, it's been reinstated, after years, because they knew that the heat was on them. But they had dropped that as well. And then last year we saw not one new infrastructure dollar being directed to South Australia. Federal members come into this place and say, 'That's the state government's fault because they didn't put any proposals up.' Yet the same state federal members will come into this place and take credit for works to do with infrastructure that they supposedly got without the state government. I say to them: you can't have it both ways. Either you stand up for South Australia or you don't. If you're good enough to get money when you want to claim credit for it, then you should have done so last year as well.

It gets worse than that, as we know. GMH is a classic, iconic South Australian company, established by the longest-serving Liberal Premier in South Australia, Thomas Playford, who did great things for South Australia. After 60-odd years, under this government, which turned its back on the car workers, we saw the car workers lose their jobs, but it also affected all of the other associated industries and the general community and the economy of that area of South Australia because there were so many other businesses that relied on it. I suspect Thomas Playford would be turning in his grave if he was aware of what was going on in South Australia and the things that he established being turned around by this government.

We then go to the education funding. I don't want to repeat the debate we had in the other chamber this morning, because that was had in the other chamber, but $210 million is going to be taken away from South Australian schools as a result of this government reneging on a previous agreement that was in place under Labor and the state government. But we then turn to the GST debate and we get to a situation where we are likely to lose over $500 million in GST funding because this government is possibly going to change the formula.

I notice that the South Australian Libs—the federal Liberals—have come out and said, 'We'll stand up for South Australia.' Well, if you're going to stand up for South Australia, why doesn't the federal government come out before the next state election and make it clear that there will be no cuts? But they won't. They'll wait until after the state election, both here and in Tasmania.

Lastly, I turn to the River Murray, because the member for Barker is sitting right there. The member for Barker got up in parliament last week and asked a question questioning Labor's stand on a disallowance motion that would have meant more water for South Australia. The member for Barker, who represents the Riverland fruit growers, came into the parliament and criticised Labor's position in standing up for more water for South Australian growers. South Australians are not fools and they won't be fooled by this government.

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