SA election: Nick Xenophon won’t release costings, but plugs final ad

Nick Xenophon refuses to publish a comprehensive costings document but SA-Best releases its final cheesy ad | WATCH

A still from Nick Xenophon's latest campaign ad.

Nick Xenophon will not release a comprehensive costings document but rather opt for a broad outline of how the millions of dollars he has made in election campaign promises will be met, if his new SA-Best party wins the balance of power on Saturday.

With the campaign in its final hours and the release of costings by the Labor and Liberal parties, Mr Xenophon unleashed a final campaign ad that features him running from the “bull’’ being thrown at him by his political opponents.

The ad simulates Mr Xenophon running in the famous Running of the Bulls festival in Spain, and is set to matador music. An election advertising blackout on TV and radio started at 12am today so SA Best is pushing its final ad on social media.

“Labor, Liberal, unions and pokies operators are all trying to run me down with a lot of bull,” Mr Xenophon says while he “outruns” bulls in the opening scene.

“But I’m fighting the bull so you don’t get taken for a ride.”

Mr Xenophon goes on to say “the greatest load of bull(beep)” is Labor’s claim that he cut $210 million from education in his former role as a federal Senator.

Mr Xenophon attacks hoteliers’ claims that his anti-pokies policies will cost jobs, arguing they would save lives and boost employment. He also rejects union claims he backed pension cuts.

The “bull’’ ad follows his cheesy first campaign advertisement, in which Mr Xenophon raps and dances to his party’s slogan.

The Liberal opposition today said its campaign promises would cost about $300 million a year over the next four years, if it’s elected on Saturday.

Its costings document revealed the party would not match Labor’s $2 billion spending promises, including $1.3bn on level crossing removal.

No frontline staff will lose their jobs under the Liberal Party’s plans to cut more than $800m in public sector expenditure over the next three years, according to opposition treasury spokesman Rob Lucas.

Mr Lucas this afternoon revealed his party’s costings ahead of Saturday’s state election, claiming its commitments were modest in comparison to the Weatherill government’s more than $2bn of “reckless spending promises”.

“Sadly for South Australia, Labor has been throwing money around like drunken sailors on shore leave,” he said.

Mr Lucas outlined new operating expenditure commitments of around $300m a year and new capital works of $449m over three years.

Surpluses would be maintained over the forward estimates, Mr Lucas said.

He said the Liberals’ efficiency dividend would, like Labor, not include a hard jobs target. Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis has previously said Labor’s plan was to not recruit against attrition.

Mr Lucas ruled out matching Labor’s $1.3bn promise to remove seven level crossings and $540m for extending Adelaide’s tram network.

Labor’s costings document, released this afternoon by Mr Koutsantonis, said the ALP had made campaign commitments worth around $550m, while “investing expenditure” was almost $2bn.

Mr Koutsantonis said Labor would fund its promises while maintaining forecast budget surpluses through savings measures worth almost $400m across the forward estimates, including by cutting the number of public service executives by 10 per cent and abolishing the board of SA Water.

This comes as three SA-Best candidates are considering legal action against South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill over claims they will leave the party to sit as independents after the state election.

Mr Weatherill last month said candidates from Mr Xenophon’s party were planning to distance themselves if elected, but would not reveal which candidates he was referring to.

Yesterday, he named them as Tom Antonio in Giles, John Noonan in Cheltenham and Michelle Campbell in Chaffey.