The Marshall Liberal Government has welcomed the latest BankSA State Monitor survey, which shows South Australian business confidence remains strong, with more employers creating new jobs in the past three months as others prepare to expand their local workforce.
Planned investment has surged, with a record high number of businesses intending to make a major purchase on plant and equipment in the next 12 months.
"We welcome the latest BankSA State Monitor survey which shows business confidence remains strong and at levels higher than at any stage during the last seven years of the former Labor government (mid-2011 to early 2018),'' said Treasurer Rob Lucas.
Consumer confidence has also rebounded, driven by a lower interest rate environment, tax cuts and relatively stable house prices in SA defying the national downturn, with more local households intending to spend on major items, such as real estate, cars, whitegoods and travel, in the next three months.
"These survey results certainly provide no evidence to support some of the alarmist claims by the Property Council and others that the Government's budget, including land tax reforms, was already destroying business confidence and driving investors away from investing in SA," Mr Lucas said.
South Australians are less worried about their job security than they have been since August 2014 and are now "more optimistic about their financial position and intend spending more in the near future", according to the independent survey.
Mr Lucas said the July BankSA State Monitor was a strong endorsement of the sound economic policies of the Marshall Liberal Government, with payroll tax cuts, $360 million in ESL bill reductions and a significant $11.9 billion infrastructure program creating a pipeline of local jobs.
"We are delighted that more businesses have recently created jobs, while others plan to expand their operations and workforce in the next three months. Consumer confidence is also heading in the right direction, with more households optimistic about their future financial position," he said.
"While we recognise there is always more work to be done, these results are encouraging and reflect support within the broader business community for the Government's positive economic agenda, as we strive to create more jobs, sustained population growth and attract greater investment.
"The survey also comprehensively puts paid to claims of economic 'doom and gloom' by our political opponents, who seem intent on talking South Australia's economy down."
