South Australia budget: Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis *covers federal cuts*, emergency levy to rise (ABC)

View Comments ABC Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis says he is covering for federal cuts.

South Australians will feel the pain from the state budget in a rise in the annual Emergency Services Levy (ESL).

It is to go up by about $150 for the average South Australian household from July 1, with the SA Government saying it needs to cover budget shortfalls from federal coffers.

The rise will be $150 on a property valued at $400,000. A current year bill of $91.60 will rise to $240.85 in 2014 -15.

The higher levy is forecast to raise $322 million over four years.

Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis says pensioners and concession card holders will be exempt from the rise in the levy.

"I'm taking all that money and I'm moving it into the health care system ... it will mean an increase to the average household of about $150 per annum," Mr Koutsantonis said.

"It's difficult, it's not what I wanted to do but it's what we have to do."

ESL discounts on vehicle registration also are to end, adding $8 to registration costs.

A fund taken from infrastructure spending will go into health, an area hit hard by the recent federal budget.

It is to mean what the Government terms a "reprofiling" of projects such as the Gawler rail line electrification.

"This is not a cut. This is a suspension, the money remains in the budget and will be spent over the next four years to try and work out how we reconfigure our health care system," the Treasurer said.

Motor Accident Commission changes

The SA Government will take $500 million out of the Motor Accident Commission in 2016-17 and direct it to the Highways Fund.

It also is to allow a private competitive tender for compulsory third party insurance (CTP) in 2016, a job currently done by the Motor Accident Commission.

Mr Koutsantonis says it is not privatisation because it is not an essential utility.

He says it has been a monopoly, with the SA Government setting rates when a better deal was out there for consumers.

"You may get a better premium, you can link it to your household insurance for example .. link CTP to other policies and get a cheaper premium," he said.

Mr Koutsantonis says he is delivering a budget which will offset $898 million of federal funding cuts.

"We haven't used this as an excuse to go further. We haven't used this as an excuse in our budget to hide or conceal anything  - we are responding like-for-like."

Mr Koutsantonis says federal cuts have forced the suspension of four hospital upgrades, at Flinders, Modbury, Noarlunga and the Queen Elizabeth Hospitals, with another $332 million in state health cuts still needed.

He is not ruling out ward or hospital closures.

The Treasurer also is blaming the Commonwealth for a $190 cut affecting pensioners' concessions on council rates from next year.

He says a dramatic improvement is forecast for the state deficit in 2014-15 - a 60 per cent reduction to achieve a deficit of $581 million.

He is promising that will keep improving until a surplus of $406 million is achieved in 2015-16, but he says it will only be $227 million if federal budget cuts hit SA's bottom line.

But debt is to rise sharply to about $10 billion in 2015-16 when the new Royal Adelaide Hospital will be completed.

Debt will peak at $9.8 billion but the Government will shift $2.7 billion of it to SA Water.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/24275909/south-australia-budget-treasurer-tom-koutsantonis-covers-federal-cuts-emergency-levy-to-rise/