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Speaker 1: The state opposition is calling on the state government to

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Speaker 1: freeze government charges that impact us, all things like motor registration,

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Speaker 1: license fees, I imagine everything else in that regard bus tickets

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Speaker 1: and all the annual fees and charges that we pay

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Speaker 1: as these things go up every year around budget times.

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Speaker 1: So let's have a chat about that. We have put

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Speaker 1: in a call to the state government, to the treasurer

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Speaker 1: to respond to Vincent Tasia, the leader of the opposition,

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Speaker 1: who joins me now, mister Tarsi.

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Speaker 2: A good morning, Good morning, mak you.

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Speaker 1: So what are your concern here? Obviously costa living, We've

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Speaker 1: been talking about this for the last couple of years,

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Speaker 1: and the rate of the increases we face every year.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, so that we know that the Labor Governor

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Speaker 2: at the moment, they're reaching record revenue at the moment

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Speaker 2: from a whole range of measures. And at the same time,

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Speaker 2: seastones are struggling. And look, I've been out in elected

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Speaker 2: to black and about most days this week and what

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Speaker 2: I'm hearing the long period of time from households also

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Speaker 2: small businesses, is that they're just struggling with the cost

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Speaker 2: of living. So you know, instead of the government looking

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Speaker 2: at things like a GP payer LL tax grab and

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Speaker 2: increased increases to water bills. What we're calling for is

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Speaker 2: we're calling for a freeze on these fees and charges

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Speaker 2: because we know at the moment, South Australias are paying

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Speaker 2: more for their household bills, they're paying more stake government

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Speaker 2: fees and charges, they're paying more now to go and

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Speaker 2: see their DP, and they're paying more in state government

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Speaker 2: fees to buy a home as well. We did some

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Speaker 2: analysis we found out that just over in just over

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Speaker 2: two years, I mean stamp duge and the average home

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Speaker 2: has gone up by over eight thousand dollars. Water bills

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Speaker 2: are now up by ninety dollars per year for the

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Speaker 2: average house and just general revenue from fees and charges

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Speaker 2: you're looking at anything from you find infringement notices, court

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Speaker 2: find land services. Fees received by the state government's increased

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Speaker 2: by almost thirty center. I mean at the same time

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Speaker 2: we're now paying the highest power prices in the nation.

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Speaker 2: I mean, these input costs and these other fees in charges,

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Speaker 2: they just add up. There's only so much that people

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Speaker 2: can take and we know that it's adding up. And

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Speaker 2: I think this is a sensible lever that state governments

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Speaker 2: can pull, and we're seeing other jurisdictions around the world.

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Speaker 2: The COLP, for example, in the Northern Territory, they basically

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Speaker 2: came into government, amongst other things, on a promise to

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Speaker 2: freeze car registration amounts for twelve months, make all drivers'

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Speaker 2: licenses free for a year. I mean this might be

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Speaker 2: one hundred bucks key and two hundred bucks of it.

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Speaker 2: It's adding up at the moment. Of course, people always

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Speaker 2: are also going through some are going through thirteen fourteen

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Speaker 2: and charge increases in relation to their mortgage rates. Well,

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Speaker 2: so it's all adding up. And that's why we're calling

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Speaker 2: on the government to just make some sensible adjustment to

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Speaker 2: these leaders that they can pull to help stut Australians out.

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Speaker 1: Do you think there's room in the budget for the

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Speaker 1: government to put a freezer? I mean, in government, would

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Speaker 1: the Liberal Party have done this? It's highly unlikely.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think you've sort of got to work at

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Speaker 2: the economic stage. That don't forget we were in the

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Speaker 2: middle of a global pandemic when we were lasting governments.

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Speaker 2: But we've now crunched the numbers. We know that the

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Speaker 2: increase to power prices is having a devastating effect on people.

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Speaker 2: We know that at the moment the way that a

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Speaker 2: household property values have increased. We know that just on

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Speaker 2: stand duty alone, the average home has increased by over

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Speaker 2: eight thousand dollars. So we just thin get time for

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Speaker 2: the government now to make an assessment on where we are.

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Speaker 2: And given the nature of the cost of living crisis,

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Speaker 2: we're seeing some record insolvencies, We're seeing power prices the

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Speaker 2: highest in Australia at the moment. We're just suggesting the government,

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Speaker 2: I think this is a sensible adjustment. They can put

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Speaker 2: a freeze, make a bold call on this and helps

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Speaker 2: out Australian in kind of need.

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Speaker 1: All right, Electricity prices is interesting because of course they

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Speaker 1: didn't come down after four years of a liberal government,

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Speaker 1: did they. They're still the highest in the nation.

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Speaker 2: Well, what I'm looking at in front of me shows

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Speaker 2: that the average annual electricity retaulble actually came down. Now

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Speaker 2: I'm looking at what I'm looking at in front of me,

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Speaker 2: and shows that it came down around four hundred and

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Speaker 2: twenty one dollars on the figure that I'm looking in

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Speaker 2: front of me. But look at the end of the day,

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Speaker 2: at the moment that they are the highest in the

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Speaker 2: nation at the moment.

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Speaker 1: If they came down, how are they the highest?

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Speaker 2: Again, Well, that's a very good point. I think that

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Speaker 2: we all know about the transition or lack of transition

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Speaker 2: to renewables and what that is causing us at the

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Speaker 2: moment under this labor government. The same time, you look

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Speaker 2: at what they're seeking to do in respect of their

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Speaker 2: sailed hydrogen experiment at the moment, I mean they're looking

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Speaker 2: at spending five hundred and ninety three million dollars. Bureaucracy

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Speaker 2: has gone up from eight staff initially of fifty five,

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Speaker 2: that the timelines are blown out, we're now seeing that

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Speaker 2: they're going to have to use diesel powered b double

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Speaker 2: truck to ship up gas to what it anything but

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Speaker 2: a green plant up there. So what we're saying is,

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Speaker 2: while it's the product of government to look at these

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Speaker 2: things the moments out the strains are struggling, there's the

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Speaker 2: immediate things that they can control, and that's why we're

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Speaker 2: asking to help the out strainers out.

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Speaker 1: Which of the things you've mentioned would you like? Is

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Speaker 1: it a freeze on drivers licenses? Is it a freeze

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Speaker 1: on motor ridge? Is that all fees and charges just

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Speaker 1: frozen at their current level for the next twelve months

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Speaker 1: or so.

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Speaker 2: Well, there's a whole range of things that they could

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Speaker 2: look at. One is, for example, standards. The average homeent

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Speaker 2: of this stand due is increased by over eight thousand.

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Speaker 2: That's something that they could seek to reduce. We know

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Speaker 2: that that brings in over a billion dollars stand duties

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Speaker 2: each and every year. I mean, water bills are up

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Speaker 2: by ninety dollars per us the average house or we've

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Speaker 2: already said, we've already said that we would scrap the

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Speaker 2: rise above inflation, so we've already called for that as well.

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Speaker 2: In terms of revenue from fees and charges, I mean,

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Speaker 2: you know, why are things like course finds, land services

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Speaker 2: fees while those sorts of fees going up by almost

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Speaker 2: thirty percent. It just seems extraordinary given the cost living crisis.

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Speaker 3: That we face.

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Speaker 1: Would you, as an opposition seek, as through a private

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Speaker 1: member's bill to reintroduce a camp on council rates because

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Speaker 1: I would suspect that as enormous community support.

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Speaker 2: We certainly took that to in the past of a

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Speaker 2: position unfortunately just to have the numbers to get through

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Speaker 2: the Parliament. But look, if I'm honest. I think councils

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Speaker 2: as well as other levels of government look at how

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Speaker 2: they're spending money and seek to be able to spend

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Speaker 2: it more and more wisely. That's just that's just a fact.

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Speaker 2: And you know, I do emphathize with counselors that are

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Speaker 2: going through their own struggles that a lot of these

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Speaker 2: things do come down in costs and these fees and

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Speaker 2: charges that I was talking about as well power prices.

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Speaker 2: Every no one is immune from that at the moment,

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Speaker 2: and that's why I think that they are some leaders

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Speaker 2: of the government can put.

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Speaker 1: So councils struggling with their own costs at the moment.

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Speaker 1: You say that the rate rises are justified, well, we.

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Speaker 2: Put forward rate capping is a very clear policy. We

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Speaker 2: just didn't have the numbers to navigate that through the parliament.

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Speaker 2: I certainly pasked my team with looking about the ways

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Speaker 2: that we can help out strains with the coross the living.

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Speaker 2: That's why we're suggesting the sensible freeze on fees and

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Speaker 2: charges of something that the government could put in almost immediately.

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Speaker 2: And we know that they are benefiting from. As I said,

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Speaker 2: rivers of gold, record rivers of gold. As I said,

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Speaker 2: stand duty on the average home at the moment has

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Speaker 2: increased both eight thousand dollars each time.

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Speaker 1: All right, so Amanda Wilson and the government has already

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Speaker 1: honed in on this, her council as mea having one

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Speaker 1: of the highest rate rises in the state. Is that

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Speaker 1: why your position on council rates capping them seems to

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Speaker 1: have changed.

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Speaker 2: Well, no, no, not at all. We put that policy

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Speaker 2: position for it a long time ago and we didn't

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Speaker 2: didn't have the numbers to get it through the parliament.

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Speaker 2: In fact that the Labor Party actually opposed it. So

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Speaker 2: you know, we've got a very strong view and it

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Speaker 2: comes to a councils spending money efficiently, looks for the

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Speaker 2: Labor Party want to try and weaponize that, well, I

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Speaker 2: suggest that they look in the mirror and look how

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Speaker 2: the spending which is going absolutely out of contry out

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Speaker 2: this government.

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Speaker 1: All I appreciate your time, Vincentasia, thank you, thank you.

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Speaker 4: Well.

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Speaker 1: We started the show with Vincentazi, a leader of the opposition,

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Speaker 1: calling on the government to freeze government fees and chargers

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Speaker 1: to help with the cost of living pressures around the place.

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Speaker 1: And certainly we're all feeling that, experiencing that at the checkout,

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Speaker 1: no matter what the checkout is, supermarket, petrol bowser, you

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Speaker 1: name it. It's hurting with every expense it seems we've

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Speaker 1: been paying over the last however long, going up, certainly

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Speaker 1: in the last couple of years. Stephen Mulligan, State Treasurer,

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Speaker 1: to respond to that on the line, mister Mulligan, good morning.

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Speaker 3: Oh, good morning, Matthew. Well, look, we're always the first

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Speaker 3: to consider cost of living relief from the state government's perspective.

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Speaker 3: In the last three budgets, we've put together nearly eight

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Speaker 3: hundred million dollars worth of cost of living relief measures

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Speaker 3: for South Australia, particularly those who need it the most.

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Speaker 3: You know, we've doubled the cost of living payments, we've

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Speaker 3: provided bonus payments for those we've cut school fees, we've

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Speaker 3: provided energy rebates, we've made public transport free for seniors.

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Speaker 3: These are just some of the ways that we're providing

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Speaker 3: a really meaningful reduction in costs. But freezing state government

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Speaker 3: fees and charges doesn't really provide meaningful relief. This year,

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Speaker 3: fees and chargers have gone up by three percent and

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Speaker 3: to put that in context, Matthew, that's four dollars on

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Speaker 3: your registration charge for a four cylinder vehicle. Now, I'd

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Speaker 3: much rather provide meaningful cost of living relief in the

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Speaker 3: hundreds of dollars to a household that's really filling the pinch,

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Speaker 3: rather than try and provide every motorist a four dollar reduction,

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Speaker 3: because I just don't ticket makes the difference.

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Speaker 1: You're right in what you say on that point. And

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Speaker 1: yes you've helped people on concessions and school fees and

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Speaker 1: the like, but there'd be a whole big group of

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Speaker 1: South Australians who haven't seen any of that. People listening

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Speaker 1: right now, some will have been helped, There's no doubt

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Speaker 1: cost of living in concessions particularly, and yes the school

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Speaker 1: fees issue would have assisted young families starting off, no

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Speaker 1: argument with that. But can't you do something that is

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Speaker 1: very generalized that hits everybody. I always come back to

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Speaker 1: public transport. Just make it free, because the numbers of

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Speaker 1: people on public transport, for the fact that's subsidized to

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Speaker 1: ninety plus percent of the trip in any case, it's

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Speaker 1: an obvious one just sitting there waiting to be hit,

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Speaker 1: to be smashed to help people. Thousands of people who

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Speaker 1: use public transport every day you'd make a real difference.

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Speaker 3: Well, it is a good point you make about making

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Speaker 3: sure that the state government's providing cost of living relief

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Speaker 3: where can and for those people who need it the most.

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Speaker 3: But you're absolutely right, there are a lot of people

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Speaker 3: who would be looking for more general financial support, and

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Speaker 3: so that's why we've targeted our assistance to those people

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Speaker 3: who are of more limited means in our community, because

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Speaker 3: we recognize at the same time, from the first of

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Speaker 3: July this year, the federal government was rolling out of

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Speaker 3: Stage three tax cuts and that was providing board based

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Speaker 3: relief to every taxpayer in the country in the thousands

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Speaker 3: of dollars per year. So there's a role for federal

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Speaker 3: government to pull the big leaders and provide significant support

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Speaker 3: across the board, and then there's a role for state

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Speaker 3: government to be more targeted, recognizing that we don't have

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Speaker 3: the resources the federal government, and to provide that meaningful

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Speaker 3: relief where it's needed the most by those people who

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Speaker 3: are on the lowest incomes. But the other thing I've

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Speaker 3: got to say, Mathew, is it's pretty galling for Vincentazia

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Speaker 3: to come on a core for cost of living relief.

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Speaker 3: I mean, we're in a bio election campaign at the moment,

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Speaker 3: he's asked the glenelg Maayre to run for the Liberals,

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Speaker 3: who of course has been on the five dol A

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Speaker 3: programs previously in the last few months because she's increasing

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Speaker 3: council rates by one hundred and twenty six dollars or

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Speaker 3: more than seven percent this year for her rate payers

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Speaker 3: in the in the city a whole fast base. So

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Speaker 3: I don't mind responding to calls about cost of living relief,

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Speaker 3: but it's pretty galling for it to come from Vincent

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Speaker 3: Tazia when the Liberals are back in a candidate who's

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Speaker 3: got a track record for dialing up pressure on households

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Speaker 3: while we're in this cost of living christ.

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Speaker 1: And I think that's a very fair point to make

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Speaker 1: for the people of black and one for them to consider.

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Speaker 1: But of course there's people from Mountain Gambia are up

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Speaker 1: to Sojuna and Udna Datta who are feeling the cost

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Speaker 1: of this and they're not affected by that at all.

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Speaker 3: No, that's right, But you know, I think it goes

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Speaker 3: to Vincent's credibility as a new leader of the opposition.

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Speaker 3: But I come back to my point. You know, what

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Speaker 3: are we doing for people in Mount Gambia and other

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Speaker 3: regional parts of South Astrat as well as Metropolitan Madelaide.

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Speaker 3: And that's why we've tried to tailor our policies so

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Speaker 3: those people on the lowest incomes now community recognizing that.

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Speaker 3: At the same time, the federal government has been deploying

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Speaker 3: that very broad based Stage three income tax relief that's

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Speaker 3: going to literally every tax player in the country from

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Speaker 3: the first of July this year. And by getting these

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Speaker 3: two governments to work together in that way, we're providing

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Speaker 3: the greatest relief. But Matthew, I'm not saying that things

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Speaker 3: are easy out there by any stretch. Household as well

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Speaker 3: as businesses are getting pummeled by the combination of very

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Speaker 3: high rates of inflation that we haven't experienced in this

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Speaker 3: country for decades. And at the same time, to try

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Speaker 3: and get that under control, the Reserve Bank is massively

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Speaker 3: increasing the cash rate, which is driving up our interest

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Speaker 3: rates and that's hurting people who've got a mortgage because

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Speaker 3: their mortgage payments go up. And it's also hurting people

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Speaker 3: who haven't got a mortgage but are renting because landlords

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Speaker 3: are forced to increase their rents as well. I've got

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Speaker 3: to get this inflation under control. It's heading in the

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Speaker 3: right direction, but we're not there yet. And in the meantime,

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Speaker 3: that's why we're constantly on the lookout of ways to

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Speaker 3: find an effective way to provide substantial cost of living

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Speaker 3: release to people who need it the most in our community.

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Speaker 1: Isn't fair. I mean, as a labor party shifted its

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Speaker 1: position on capping council rates because it seems in some

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Speaker 1: cases a year you mentioned hold Fast Bay just abhorrent.

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Speaker 1: Some of the rises not just there around the state,

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Speaker 1: some of them just way out of control. It seems, well, that's.

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Speaker 3: Right, I mean trans you know, Somelight's the best disinfectant,

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Speaker 3: as the saying goes. And the previous government had a

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Speaker 3: policy of capping counsel rates. They didn't end up implementing it,

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Speaker 3: but one thing they did implement was around this. Well,

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Speaker 3: we didn't support it because what it would mean is

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Speaker 3: counsels would have less capacity in turn to support those

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Speaker 3: constituents in their communities who needed them most. Because remember, Matthew,

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Speaker 3: that while I've talked about the federal government and the

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Speaker 3: state government, you've also got councils that provide council rate

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Speaker 3: relief to pensioners and other people who need it the most.

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Speaker 3: And when you're capping council rates, it's a bit of

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Speaker 3: a blunt tool. What we've seen though.

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Speaker 1: People who can't afford it either.

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Speaker 3: Well, I mean, you look at my council. I live

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Speaker 3: in the western suburbs, my electrics covered by the City

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Speaker 3: of charlest I mean, their council rate increase is nothing

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Speaker 3: like the seven point one percent of the city a

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Speaker 3: Hole Fast Bay, which is the second highest increase across

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Speaker 3: the state. I think it's only Burnside Council, which is

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Speaker 3: higher than what Amanda Wilson, the mayor from Glenelk, has

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Speaker 3: put in place. And you know, the other councils, particularly

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Speaker 3: Port Adelaidae Inflord, or City of Charlestit or the City

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Speaker 3: of Onkaparinga are trying to keep council rating increases lower

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Speaker 3: around what inflation is or even lower, recognizing how difficult

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Speaker 3: it is for households. And that's why I think we've

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Speaker 3: got to continue calling out these councils who ray rates

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Speaker 3: not just very high in a cost living crisis, but

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Speaker 3: they're doing it for unaffordable capital works programs. I mean

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Speaker 3: now's the time to reign it in if you're a

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Speaker 3: council not to push the boat further out. And you know,

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Speaker 3: I think that's why the transparency regime is at least

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Speaker 3: partly effective, because we're all talking about how outrageous these

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Speaker 3: council rate increases are and of course that means people

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Speaker 3: will vote with their feet next time these people are

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Speaker 3: up for elections.

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Speaker 1: Allen's called in with a question for your Treasurer Alan.

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Speaker 3: Good morning, Yes, good morning.

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Speaker 4: I'd like to ask mister Mulligan, how come MP carles

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Speaker 4: has not been increased since two thousand and seven. In

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Speaker 4: that year they were said at about seven thousand dollars,

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Speaker 4: costing the tax payers of South Australia roughly about three

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Speaker 4: hundred and seven thousand dollars a year. And there's been

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Speaker 4: no increase since two thousand and seven as far as

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Speaker 4: I'm aware. And why are they imnewn from his base

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Speaker 4: and how many millions of dollars as they car lease

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Speaker 4: has cost us since two thousand and seven.

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Speaker 3: Well, in fact, it's a good question from allanite. It

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Speaker 3: hasn't changed, but the fleet operations that are actually located

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Speaker 3: within the Department of Treasuring finance that reports to me

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Speaker 3: running the government fleet. You know, we have about six

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Speaker 3: thousand cars for all of the people who go out

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Speaker 3: and visit people in need of disability support or trial

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Speaker 3: protection services or healthcare, and as well as all of

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Speaker 3: the operational requirements for police and forestry and that sort

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Speaker 3: of thing that actually makes money for the government, the

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Speaker 3: fleet operation. So we lease these we purchase these cars,

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Speaker 3: we make them available to public servants as well as

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Speaker 3: MP's for a leasing fee, and then at the end

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Speaker 3: of that time we sell it and it's actually driven

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Speaker 3: significant profits for the last couple of years. So you know,

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Speaker 3: I know politicians are always a soft target when it

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Speaker 3: comes to their pay and remuneration requirements. You know, I'd

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Speaker 3: be on a hiding to nothing if I was to

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Speaker 3: try and mant a compelling argument about our remuneration arrangements.

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Speaker 3: But I can reassure you that this is not costing

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Speaker 3: taxpayers money. These fleet operations actually turn a dollar for

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Speaker 3: the state government, and that of course gives us more

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Speaker 3: flexibility to invest in hospitals and schools and roads and

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Speaker 3: police and so on.

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Speaker 1: Do you reckon you could lease a car for every

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Speaker 1: South Australian. That's if it's making your money.

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Speaker 3: Well, that might be a bit beyond this, Matthew, and

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Speaker 3: I think some of those some of those car manufacturers

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Speaker 3: which provide preferential pricing to the government which enables us

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Speaker 3: to turn a profit on this for the benefit of taxpayers,

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Speaker 3: might start asking questions about that.

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Speaker 1: All, Steven Mulligan, Look, we'll have to leave it there.

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Speaker 1: We're out of time. Appreciate you calling in to respond

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Speaker 1: to Thank you, Thanks so much. State Treasurer Stephen Mulligan

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Speaker 1: on the oppositions call for a freeze on rates and

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Speaker 1: charges