The Gillard Government is committed to supporting South Australian families, local jobs and industry and infrastructure.
Suggestions in todays media that South Australia is being neglected fails to recognise the facts.
Under this Government, more than 500,000 South Australians are paying less tax and 47,000 people no longer pay any tax thanks to the tripling of the tax-free threshold.
We have also provided support for 96,000 South Australian families through the SchoolKids Bonus, helping families with the costs of education. 125,000 South Australian families are also receiving payments under the Household Assistance Package.
The Gillard Governments support for South Australian families stands in stark contrast to the approach a Liberal Government would take.
Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey have confirmed they would strip support for South Australian families if elected, unwinding the tax-free threshold, axing the SchoolKids Bonus and scrapping the Household Assistance Package.
This is on top of the around $1 billion that would be ripped from South Australias budget by changing GST distribution to a per capita basis, an option Mr Abbott has flagged he would pursue.
This Government has also invested more than $6 billion in hospital services and health infrastructure in South Australia since 2007 including $4.4 billion under the National Health Reform agreement, and we are spending $1.3 billion this financial year on aged care services in South Australia. This is around $500 million more than the Howard Government spent in its last full year of government.
And, after years of inaction by the Liberals, this Government has delivered a historic agreement for the Murray Darling Basin which has secured its future and will return much-needed water to the environment.
The Prime Minister has also announced that Adelaide will be home to a key manufacturing precinct the Adelaide Defence Precinct as part of our $1 billion jobs plan. The Adelaide Defence Precinct will service the state's strong defence industry which will have a healthy future under the Gillard Government.
We have committed to building 12 Future Submarines to be assembled in Adelaide. This is the biggest Defence project Australia has ever undertaken and will mean work for numerous South Australian companies and local workers.
Meanwhile, the Opposition has indicated they would send this work offshore.
And, Federal Labor is providing an unprecedented $2.7 billion in our six-year Nation Building Program (2008-09 to 2013-14) to rebuild and renew the States road, rail and public transport infrastructure.
We have more than doubled annual infrastructure spending from $109 to $272 per South Australian since coming to Government, and, construction on the NBN has commenced or is complete for 75,000 homes and businesses across South Australia.
The Gillard Government is investing in South Australia.
We are supporting families, we are creating jobs and we are helping build infrastructure.