South Australia stalls as urban decay looms

You won't read about any of this because for the last 30 years, The Advertiser - whose circulation has fallen a whopping 30 percent over three years - has an obsession with trivia and 'clickbait' stories. The journalists are good but management has driven the paper so low in the market, you need to decompress after reading it. It's on its last legs.

Want to know what's driving the SA economy? The grain crop. It is projected to represent a farm gate value of $1.8 billion and an export value of $2.2 billion. Turn clocks back to the feudal times. The Magna Carta would be considered bold political reform in South Australia.

In 2012-2013 more than 10,000 South Australian dwellings had their power cut off because they could not pay their bills. This was a jump of 50 per cent from 10 years ago. That's more than 6 per cent of all dwellings in the state. In 2014, the number of defaulters who couldn't pay their water bills had risen to about 6000 people per year.

According to the ABS, jobs in Australia have risen by 186,500 since February last year - the most in two years. But not in SA. There has also been a surge in professional, scientific and technical services jobs and a boom in housing activity in the eastern states. Not in SA.

Due to 40 years of spin and inept leadership by various South Australian governments, they have lost the head, heart and body of its citizenry.South Australians deserve better. They didn't trade their manners for a harbor view.

The state has the most highly trained and experienced tradesmen and women in Australia. There's nothing they can't build. The question remains whether they can pull themselves out of this steep economic dive or else become the two-dollar shop of the Federation.