South Australian state government debt per person revealed

South Australia’s state debt has escalated to the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars per person. Find out the figure.

South Australia’s debt has soared to more than $23,000 per person, leaving a baby born today facing per capita interest repayments of at least $1125 a year.

State debt increases from $27.9bn at the end of this financial year to $44.2bn in mid-2028, with interest payments of $2.1bn annually or more than $5m a day.

The debt mountain is the equivalent of $23,686.44 for every one of SA’s 1.8663m people, with no government projections in place to reduce the impost.

About $440m has been piled onto government debt to help finance a $1.5bn water and sewer infrastructure spend designed to unlock 40,000 home allotments, revealed on Tuesday by Premier Peter Malinauskas.

But he insisted this had been factored in to the June 6 state budget forecasts, which showed government debt worsening beyond the government’s own previous forecasts.

SA is mid-ranking in state debt levels, with Victoria about to overtake NSW as the most indebted and Queensland’s soars, S & P Global Ratings analysis prepared for The Advertiser finds.

Treasurer Stephen Mullighan (left) with Premier Peter Malinauskas. Picture: NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

Treasurer Stephen Mullighan insists the debt is serviceable, affordable and necessary to fund the $15.4bn South Rd tunnel project and the $3.2bn new Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

But Opposition treasury spokesman Matt Cowdrey accused Labor governments across Australia of blowing out budgets when households across the country were tightening their belts.

S & P Global Ratings, whose officials met with Under Treasurer Rick Persse on Wednesday morning, says SA benefits from a strong economy and financial management and debt levels compare well with “domestic and international peers”.

Treasurer Stephen Mullighan at a budget press conference. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

Mr Mullighan said the state budget projected increased debt to fund infrastructure but was back in surplus, with a debt to gross state product ratio of 24.9 per cent by mid-2028.

He contrasted this with the previous Liberal government’s projected debt for the 2024/25 financial year, which was $33.6bn, or 24.7 per cent of gross state product.

Mr Mullighan highlighted that this was a similar proportion of the state’s economy to the Liberal debt forecast but four years later.

“The reason we feel comfortable taking on more debt is because the size of the budget has grown and the budget’s capacity to service the debt has grown as well,” he told The Advertiser.

“It’s really about debt affordability and serviceability for us. We’ve got a much bigger budget and a much greater capacity to service debt.

“...What we were critical of the previous government for doing was increasing debt while they were in government, before they started any construction (on the tunnels and hospital), because they were running budget deficits.”

Opposition treasury spokesman Matt Cowdrey. Picture: The Advertiser/ Morgan Sette

But Mr Cowdrey said the Malinauskas government’s decision to rip up designs for the South Rd tunnels and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital had created combined cost blowouts of almost $7bn.

“At a time when South Australians are reining in household budgets because of the cost-of-living crisis, Labor governments across the country are doing the exact opposite,” Mr Cowdrey said.

“Whether it’s the explosion of state debt or the fact that Malinauskas Labor Government agencies blew their operating budgets by more than $800m last financial year, there is simply no fiscal discipline from Peter Malinauskas and his ministers.”

Juanita Flourentzou with with her two son Marco (11mo) at their Netley home. Picture: Tom Huntley

Young mother feels troubled by inflation rises

Mum-of-two Juanita Flourentzou says she feels troubled by the fresh inflation rises which risks to hit South Australia assoon as August.

“The hike in inflation will just make times so much harder for us to get by,” she said.

“It’s just all very troubling for us parents – with kids there is so much cost associated with looking after them – and youcan’t cut corners on nappies.”

Additionally, Ms Flourentzou said she is concerned for her mortgage rate.

“Our mortgage has already gone $150 extra every week and it’s frightening to think that can go up even more now.”

Moreover, Ms Flourentzou revealed their family to be dependent solely on her husbands income as she stays at home with hertwo children.

“I’m a stay-at-home mum just because we realised that the cost of childcare outweighs my wage,” she says. “This means thatmy husband’s salary will be stretched out so much more.”

For the future, Ms Flourentzou said she would like the government to help young struggling families with their electricitybills, as well as put a stop to supermarket gouging.