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AAP
AAP
Health
Tim Dornin

SA Labor to deliver on election promises

Stephen Mullighan says the SA government will deliver on its election commitments in the budget. (AAP)

The South Australian Labor government has promised to deliver on all its election commitments when it hands down the state budget, less than three months after coming to power.

Treasurer Stephen Mullighan said it was "absolutely critical" Thursday's budget reflected the measures Labor took to the state election in March.

"That's exactly what you'll see tomorrow," he said.

"Our budget will be delivering all our election commitments to the South Australian community.

"It will be highlighting a broad agenda of improvements to government services and infrastructure across all of those areas we know we need to invest in to meet the challenges of the future."

Among a range of measures the budget will include big spending on health, including $187.2 million to deliver new and completely rebuilt ambulance stations, and funds to hire hundreds more doctors, nurses and paramedics.

There will be money for a new city headquarters for the ambulance service, including a new emergency operations centre for crews responding to triple zero calls.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said the investment in the ambulance service would replace ageing and inadequate infrastructure its officers had been putting up with for too long.

"My government is committed to backing ambos and giving them the resources they need to do their job," he said.

The government has also promised no new taxes or charges in the budget, and said increases in fees would be kept at or below inflation.

It has pledged to quarantine frontline government services, including health, education and police, from budget savings. Back office agencies, including the premier's department, will instead feel the brunt of any cuts.

Conservation SA said it hoped the environment department would also be spared from any savings measures, after losing millions of dollars and hundreds of staff over recent years.

"This department is often seen as an easy target for treasury savings," Chief Executive Craig Wilkins said.

"Over the past 10 years, we estimate that over 500 staff have been let go. That's a shocking hit to one of the smaller branches of government.

"In the midst of an extinction crisis, and with storms on the horizon in climate and water we desperately need the relevant arm of government to have the capacity to forecast and plan ahead, not be scrambling to play catch up."

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