The 2013 budget papers have been handed to eager journalists, the Premier has given his speech, the mandarins and advisors are out selling it. You’ve read the big picture – now for the detail. InDaily has taken the budget’s major announcements, plus some of the more interesting ones buried in the detail (new escalators for Adelaide Railway Station!) and broken them down by portfolio. You’ll also find bottom line figures for some of the State Government’s major departments – just how much the Treasurer has given them to play with.

Law and Order

The State Government is considering building a new modernized courts precinct using a public-private partnership model, similar to the way the new Royal Adelaide Hospital is being funded. The budget contains $2 million in new funding for a concept plan.

A scoping study for the project was completed last year. Around $1 million will be spent on several small improvements aimed at increasing efficiency in the courts system. The government is understood to be looking at land behind the existing Supreme Court building, which it already owns.

According to budget documents funding for the full precinct has been placed in a contingency fund.

Major spending and saving measures:

• $6.4 million to upgrade the 000 call system
• New Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Cost: $1.4 million next year.
• A new Bail Accomodation Support program will be established, costing $2.9 million.
• $67 million for a 60-bed expansion of the Mt Gambier prison (already announced)
• $35 million for 50 extra policy offers over the next 12 months, 313 new officers by 2017-18. This represents a delaying of the recruiting target over a longer term (already announced).
• Increases in SAPOL’s budget will be used to establish a Neighbourhood Policing Team based at Holden Hill and employ five officers to work with people with a communication or intellectual disability.
• $10 million for cyber investigation systems for the new Independent Commission Against Corruption (already announced)

Bottom line: total justice system budget drops about $5 million, after coming in $1 million over budget this year. Correctional services budget increased by $10 million.

Health

After several years of very significant cost overruns which put pressure on the whole budget, Health has had another blow out this year to the tune of around $300 million over the 2012-13 budget – although it’s smaller than the overspends of the past, reflecting the government’s attempts to rein in the portfolio.

Major spending and saving measures:

• $9.1 million over four years for the South Australian Medical Research Institute.
• $1.5 million over two years for a “design process” to look at what to do with the old Royal Adelaide Hospital.
• $4 million for extra health workers for remote aboriginal communities (already announced)

Bottom Line: More savings targets for health. Health Minister (and former Treasurer) Jack Snelling will need to find a further $100 million in cuts. 1000 full-time jobs are expected to go.

Education

The Premier’s advisors say this budget is designed with the expectation that Gonski, the Federal Government’s signature education reform, will be signed. The money that would be needed were the Government to sign up is contained within a contingency fund. If the government does sign up no changes would be needed to any other programs in order to fund Gonski, the advisors say.

Major spending and saving measures:

• $32.7 million over five years “to upgrade and relocate 15 preschools”, including those at Lockleys, Morphett Vale, Woodville West, Cranston St and Maitland, Jamestown and Ashton. The preschools will all be co-located with local primary schools, but importantly will not be merged.
• $109 million to upgrade or expand public schools. John Hartley School and Evanson Gardens school will be upgraded.
• $8.3 million for 10 new Childrens’ Centres
• The budget takes a $59.9 million recurring hit from the new enterprise bargaining agreement the Government signed with the teachers union this year.
• The budget will also absorb a loss of $4 million from budgeted revenues after a reversal of the government’s plan to sell land on former school sites. Those sites will instead be retained as open space.

Bottom Line: after coming in around $100 million over budget this year, Education spending is forecast to grow by around $30 million next year. The Department of Further Education – universities and TAFEs – meanwhile gets a $46 million haircut.

Transport

The rail electrification project has been resumed after being suspended in the 2012-13 budget as a savings measure. This budget contains $152.4 million over three years to partially electrify the Gawler line from Adelaide to Dry Creek.

That includes building a new electrical substation at Kilburn. Work will begin November to be completed by the end of 2015.

Note that doesn’t actually mean you’ll be able to catch an electric train on the line – it’s just the “next step” toward that, the Premier said.

Major spending and saving measures:

• $63 million over four years for a new public transport hub at Tonsley Park. That includes a “partial duplication of the Tonsley line”, a new Park and Ride and a rebuild of the station to connect bus and train services.
• 7 new buses and 28 replacement buses are budgeted for in the next year, alongside refurbishments to stations on the O-Bahn interchange. Overall the government is targeting an increase in the number of people taking public transport to work from 6.9 per cent of the total population to 7.5 per cent.
• $8 million every year for the next four years of new spending targeted to improve the troubled north-south bus route operated by Transfield.
• Two ageing timber ferries in the Riverland will be replaced with modern steel-hulled versions. Cost: $6.1 million over four years.
• $3 million for upgrades to Adelaide Railway Station, including installing escalators.

Bottom Line: A boost to public transport funding of about $20 million

Disability

Major spending and saving measures:

• New funding of $105.4 million over five years, including $7.8 million this year.That spend rises dramatically over the forward estimates as the full NDIS kicks in. Spending rises to $723 million in 2018-19 (up from $509 million next year) when the full program is implemented. South Australia is one of the trial sites for the NDIS, which will begin in a limited form in July 1 this year.
• $31 million to “renew and relocate” special schools.

State Government Fees and Charges

Around 2000 fees and charges will increase by 3 per cent, above an inflation rate of 2.5 per cent. Metrotickets, motor vehicle registration fees, drivers licence renewals and speeding fines will all cost more. The government says that’s in line with increases in public sector inflation – the increased real costs of providing services to the public.

Aboriginal Affairs

Major spending and saving measures:

• $3.5 million for therapeutic child protection programs on the APY Lands
• $32 million over three years for Closing the Gap on Indigenous Health programs
• $3.6 million over three years to deal with open landfill sites in the APY Lands

Bottom Line: The Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (which has been subsumed into the Department of Premier and Cabinet) gets an increase of about $1 million.

The City

Major spending and saving measures:

• $1.4 million in funding to support two entrepreneur “hubs” in the city. One is already open, the other is new.
• $280,000 to replace the slate roof at Government House on North Terrace.

Government and Public Service

The current cap on maximum redundancy payments for public servants will be lowered by half, costing retiring public servants and possibly reducing the enticement offered to take voluntary redundancy – saving $37.9 million over four years.

This policy appears aimed at creating a ‘rush for the door’ in the next year as public servants considering leaving jump to get their redundancy packages before the downgrade, allowing the State Government to quickly meet its public service cut targets. The government hopes to achieve a 5100 reduction in public service numbers  over the next four years. Premier Weatherill said the existing redundancy scheme was “generous”.

Major spending and saving measures:

• Saved $16.8 million over two years by cutting two ministerial positions (already announced). The change was made when former minister Pat Conlon and John Hill retired from the front bench.
• Saved $43.7 million next year by bringing forward agency budget cuts that were scheduled for 2015-16
• Saved $58.5 million from 2016-17 onwards by continuing the 1 per cent “efficiency dividend”.
• Saved $52 million by reducing government agencies’ capital investment programs

Small Business

Major spending and saving measures:

• $21.6 million over two years in small business payroll tax concessions (already announced)
• $10.4 million over four years in small business assistance including education and research (already announced)

Environment

Major spending and saving measures:

• $5.7 million to improve water quality in the Patawalonga Lake system.
• $5.9 million over four years for the Environment Protection Agency, a portion of which will be funded by a substantial increase in waste levies.
• The State will look to increase the size of Torrens Island Conservation Park, and draft and implement a new state-wide koala strategy.

Also notable are some stats the EPA has tendered on lead levels in Port Pirie – which about 20 per cent above the Government’s targets this year, and an actual increase of 20 per cent from levels recorded last year.

Bottom Line: Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources needs to find cuts of about $30 million, 290 full time jobs to go. EPA budget holds steady.

Mining

Major spending and saving measures:

• $6 million for a Mining and Petroleum Services Centre of Excellence
• $4 million to expand a mining exploration program in the Gawler Craton region

Arts

Major spending and saving measures:

• $400,000 to refurbish the historic old police barracks and armoury in the SA Museum.
• $18 million in extra funding for cultural institutions, including the Art Gallery (already announced)
• $6 million in funding for urgent repairs to the Adelaide Festival Centre (already announced)

Roads

Major spending and saving measures:

• An $894 million South Road Upgrade, half of which is federal funding (already announced).
• 10 new fixed location speed cameras on arterial roads in the metropolitan area.
• $106 million for road improvements in the APY Lands, of which $56.1 million is Federal funding (already announced).
• $100 million from the Motor Accident Commission fund which will go toward a new road safety fund, $52.3 million of which will be spent in this budget on various projects (already announced).

Housing and Construction

Major spending and saving measures:

$39 million to extend the $8500 first home buyers grants (already announced)

Social Welfare

Major spending and saving measures:

• $50 million to build 175 new social and community houses over the next 18 months (already announced)
• $4.3 million over four years for non-government sector to provide financial counselling and representation

Bottom Line: Department of Communities and Social Inclusion sees cuts across the board, despite a total budget increase of about $35 million. The increase is all in disability funding, all other services face more budget cuts.

Training

• $27 million training package to transition workers to new industries (already announced).

Manufacturing

• $4.1 million for a High-Value Food Manufacturing Centre

Food

• $2.7 million toward two “innovation clusters” for the food and wine industry, one in the Riverland and the other in the Limestone Coast
• $2.5 million over three years toward pursuing food export opportunities in China
• $1 million for fruit fly management

Youth

• The Duke of Edinburgh’s award will get a “new state delivery model”

• More Budget Coverage:

  • The Budget in Detail
  • The Ratings Agency Verdict
  • Kevin Naughton’s Analysis: Weatherill Makes Do
  • David Washington: The Political Strategy Behind the Budget

See the full budget papers here.