The Labor government’s second budget has also splurged further in health with an extra $2.3 billion to improve services and ease pressure on hospitals as it forecasts a return to surplus over the next 12 months.
The $474 million housing package will support 3600 builds over the next five years and allows the government to abolish stamp duty for first-home buyers.
Together with an existing grant, that could save them more than $44,000.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said the budget delivered major long-term investments in health and housing along with significant cost-of-living relief.
“Every South Australian deserves a place to call home,” the premier said.
“We’re addressing the housing crisis by abolishing stamp duty on new homes for first-home buyers, carrying out the largest ever land release, providing more rights for renters, and making a generational investment in public housing.”
The budget provides $471.3m for cost-of-living relief, including $254m for energy rebates to 420,000 households along with $44m over five years to index government concessions in line with inflation.
But the opposition said the package left other everyday South Australians to fend for themselves as it failed to offer broader support.
“A typical South Australian family on an average salary and with an average mortgage have been abandoned by Peter Malinauskas with no new support to deal with skyrocketing cost of living pressures, including the highest electricity prices in the country,” Opposition Leader David Speirs said.
Business SA also lamented the lack of support for local companies and traders at a time when wages were growing and the economy was slowing.
“Where households receive some respite in this budget, businesses do not,” chief executive Andrew Kay said.
“We were hoping to see relief in the form of lifting the payroll tax threshold which is becoming an increasing burden.
“Through no fault of their own, business owners are now carrying extra costs under a model discouraging growth and job creation.”
The budget revealed a $249m deficit for 2022/23, in sharp contrast to the $233m surplus forecast last year.
The deterioration was blamed on higher health costs, lower GST grant revenue and the $100m cost of assisting people affected by the River Murray floods.
The treasurer said the state’s finances would be back in the black to the tune of $250m in 2023/24, with the surplus rising to $639m by 2026/27, although net debt was set to jump from $26b to $37.6b over the forward estimates.
Mr Mullighan said the government maintained its commitment to no new taxes or tax increases.
“We have taken the choice that we would prefer to do far more for people who need it the most rather than do less for a greater cohort of people,” he said.
Ratings agency Moody’s said it expected the surplus forecast for the coming year to hold up, given SA’s recent track record of resilient revenue generation and solid expenditure control.
At the same time, it acknowledged the risks posed by persistent high inflation, rising interest rates and a softer global economic outlook.
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN BUDGET FOR 2023/24
* Surplus: $250 million
* Revenue: $ 26.6 billion
* Expenditure: $ 26.35 billion
* Net debt: $29.1 billion
* GST revenue: $ 8.4 billion
* Unemployment: (May 2023): 3.9 per cent
* Economic growth: 1.0 per cent