Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said Budget documents confirmed the Weatherill Government has spent $377 million on targeted voluntary separation packages (TVSPs) while failing spectacularly on its promise to reduce public service numbers. This is another stunning example of the financial mismanagement and incompetence of Premier Weatherill and Treasurer Koutsantonis. Budget papers show that between November…
Premier Jay Weatherill has announced a sneaky plan to impose a new tax on South Australians by broadening the GST to include banking services. “Within a week of releasing the 2015-16 State Budget, Mr Weatherill has started pushing for a new tax,” said Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas. “It is downright sneaky for Mr Weatherill to…
Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis seemed to have suffered a ‘convenient’ memory loss about a secret study into the possible sale of SA Water assets conducted prior to the election. “This morning in a radio interview Mr Koutsantonis couldn’t remember whether his Government had paid consultants KPMG $100,000 prior to the…
Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today evidence from Treasury boss Brett Rowse to the Budget and Finance Committee had made it clear the Weatherill Government had been considering the privatisation of some of the assets of SA Water and HomeStart Finance. When Mr Rowse was asked directly about the possible sale of any of SA…
The State Liberals have called on the Weatherill Labor Government to commit to introducing no new taxes in next week’s State Budget. “Given that South Australia’s unemployment rate has now skyrocketed to 7.6 per cent, the Weatherill Labor Government must start working on a plan to transform our economy and create jobs,” said Shadow Treasurer…
Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today it was highly embarrassing for Premier Weatherill and Treasurer Koutsantonis that the key agency for modelling good public service practice had blown its budget by $2 million this year. Commissioner for Public Sector Employment Erma Ranieri told the Budget and Finance Committee she had advised Treasury earlier this year…
The Weatherill Labor Government must rule out introducing a tax on foreigners buying property in South Australia. The Victorian Labor Government will introduce a tax that will see foreign property buyers hit with a 3 per cent surcharge on stamp duty and a 0.5 per cent surcharge on land tax. Victorian industry groups have raised…
Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today documents released under FOI have now revealed that the Weatherill Government had given a separation payout to a 79 year old public servant. “This is yet another example of a massive waste of taxpayers’ money at a time when Mr Weatherill is closing the Repatriation Hospital and cutting Emergency…
The State Liberals have reassured South Australia’s 160,000 pensioners that the South Australian Parliament will protect their entitlement to the $190 council rates concession. “The State Liberals and the minor parties in the Upper House will block any attempt by Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis to cut pensioner’s entitlements to council rate concessions,” said Shadow Treasurer Rob…
Premier Jay Weatherill has today made the extraordinary claim that Federal Labor Leader Bill Shorten is “not relevant” and cannot make a difference. The shock statement was made just hours before Mr Shorten is expected to deliver his budget response. Premier Weatherill made the claim on ABC Radio this morning: “He’s not relevant. He can’t…