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Posted:
2023-06-15 05:30:29
The South Australian Government will pour billions of dollars into fixing its troubled health system and abolish stamp duty for some first-home buyers — as part of this year's state budget.
Treasurer Stephen Mullighan said health and housing were at the core of the budget, with $2.3 billion in new health funding and $475 million in concessions, designed to make housing more affordable and available.
But the budget is $249 million in deficit and state debt will continue to grow in the coming years, to fund some of the government's big infrastructure projects.
Winner: Housing
- Stamp duty abolished for first-home owners who purchase a new home valued up to $650,000 or vacant land valued at $400,000, at a cost of $128.8 million to the budget over four years
- First-home owners grant property value cap increased from $575,000 to $650,000
- Increasing the number of public houses from 400 to 564, and stopping the sell-off of a further 580 public housing properties
Winner: Health
- $27.6 million over four years for additional doctors, physios, pharmacists and other staff to work on weekends to enable patient discharges
- Almost $100 million over five years to extend virtual healthcare services, including the Women's and Children's Health Network's child and adolescent service
- $31.5 million over five years to upscale the operations of the State Health Control Centre
- $17.6 million over five years to assist long-stay patients to leave hospital
- $22.3 million over five years to continue operating 24 beds at Regency Green, aimed at NDIS patients
- $20 million over two years to upgrade the paediatric intensive care unit at the current Women's and Children's Hospital
- $20 million over three years for four new ambulance stations and the rebuild of four existing stations
Winner: Law and order
- $81 million will be allocated to South Australia Police to be spent on recruiting 189 sworn police security officers
- $348.9 million over four years for new facilities for Forensic Science SA and SAPOL's Forensic Services Branch
- $30 million over three years to upgrade prisoner accommodation and staff facilities at Port Augusta Prison
- A $98 million road safety package, which includes $31.2 million for new road safety cameras
Neutral: Education
- Just over $100 million to be spent over four years on upgrades and repairs across 66 public schools and preschools
- $1.3 million for new four-wheel-drive buses on APY Lands and $13.9 million for buses in regional South Australia
Neutral: Cost of living
- $127.2 million state contribution to the Energy Bill Relief Fund, which will see more than 420,000 South Australian households and 86,000 small businesses receive $500 cash to pay their electricity bills
- Financial support for food charities, including $2 million for Foodbank
- Extending the $100 subsidy on public school materials and services charges in 2024
- Reduced car parking permit charges and free public transport for metropolitan public hospital workers
- $32.1 million over four years to increase carer payments for family-based carers
- $6.5 million to be spent on the School Breakfast Program
Winner: Infrastructure and transport
- $5.3 billion allocated to the North-South Corridor Torrens to Darlington section, over the next four years
- $1.2 billion over the next four years for the new Women's and Children's Hospital
- $7 million over three years to introduce tap and pay on trains
- $23.5 million over three years for upgrades at the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre at Marion
- $20 million to help councils address concerns for a number of state jetties
Winner: Child protection
- An additional $109.5 million over five years to fund an increased number of children entering care
- $35.7 million for intensive family support services
- $32.1 million to fund an increase in carer payments
- $6.1 million towards the Stronger Start program, which is aimed at helping at-risk first-time parents
- $4 million to pay for seven full-time-equivalent positions to undertake additional kinship care assessments
- $2.1 million for family reunification services
- $1.9 million dedicated to comply with requirements of the National Redress Scheme
- $1.3 million to fund across-government child death review model
- $5.2 million for new office space in metropolitan Adelaide
- $13.4 million for increased family group conferencing services
- $3.2 million for the establishment of a peak body for Aboriginal children and young people
Loser: Arts
- No additional funding has been allocated to the Tarrkarri cultural project, leaving the future of the centre in doubt
Loser: Public servants
- 50 executives across government will lose their jobs in order to save $5 million. This is in addition to the 50 job losses announced in last year's budget.
Neutral: Space industry
- Cash for the planned Australian Space Park, which was to be built at Adelaide Airport, will instead be redirected to the existing space presence at Lot Fourteen
Winner: Defence
- $5.4 million will be spent to establish an Office for AUKUS to coordinate the state's preparations for the nuclear- powered submarine program
Loser: Budget bottom line
- State debt will continue to grow to more than $37.5 billion in the coming years, to fund some of the government's big infrastructure projects
- Demands on the health system are costing the government more than $1.3 billion over the next five years
- Project cost blowouts, such as the Mount Barker Hospital, which is receiving an additional $100 million and an additional $55 million for the new Adelaide Aquatic Centre
- A transition to COVID support fund will cost the government $567 million over four years