Seven years after slamming Labor’s 2007-08 State Budget as a saga of debt, disappointment and delay, former Liberal leader Martin Hamilton-Smith has labelled the more heavily debt-laden Budget of 2014-15 as “brave and bold”.
Estimated net debt for the 2007-08 Budget was $618 million with net financial liabilities of $8.6 billion.
Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis’s 2014-15 Budget estimates net debt almost seven times higher at $4.5 billion and net financial liabilities more than double at $18 billion.
Hamilton-Smith, now an independent Liberal and minister in the Weatherill Labor Government, told parliament yesterday it was a matter of context.
“The debt is not as bad as it seems. Its not a crisis,” he said during debate on the Budget.
“The deficit is well above what anyone would like it to be, but there is a pathway to reduce it.
“The Budget in many ways is a brave budget.
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“It’s a brave Budget, because it doesn’t squib the tough decisions.”
Hamilton-Smith said the context had changed, with South Australia hit hard by major setbacks.
“The context has changed; the Roxby Downs expansion project did not proceed, Holden is closing, the Global Financial Crisis took a heavy toll.
“In that context, the Premier and his Cabinet had made a decision to build infrastructure and extend debt.
“Imagine the state we’d be in without the Adelaide Oval, the Superway (South Road), Southern Expressway and other major projects.
“If those jobs and enterprises didn’t get underway imagine what the civil contractors would be saying, what the workers would be saying, what the small businesses would be saying.
“It was the right thing to do under the circumstances – you’ve got to consider the context.”
Hamilton-Smith said that while the Budget proposed a path that would return it to surplus, that might be easier said than done.
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“As a member of the government, I acknowledge that we have to get there and it won’t be easy. Achieving savings targets is not easy.”
He also had a warning about the prospect of union opposition to WorkCover reforms.
“WorkCover – the government is going to have to hold its nerve on this.
“It’s got to get through caucus, it’s got to get through the union movement.
“We’ve got to head in that direction.”
He also challenged his former colleagues in the Liberal Party to take a more positive approach.
“I’ve looked through the Opposition’s response; what is their plan?
“I’ve been asking that for years – what is their plan for revenue, cuts and savings.
“Criticism is fine, but we need an alternative vision.”
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