MOUNT GAMBIER HOSPITAL HYDROTHERAPY POOL FUND BILL

Final Stages

Consideration in committee of the Legislative Council’s amendments.

The Hon. J.D. HILL: I move:

That the Legislative Council’s amendments be agreed to.

I indicate that the government accepts the amendments from the other place, which were moved by the Hon. John Darley, a former chair of the Commissioners of Charitable Funds. He has moved that the Comissioners of Charitable Funds be responsible for the dispersal of the funds that have been accumulated through the fundraising efforts of the Mount Gambier community, and I have indicated to him that I am happy for that to happen. We have talked to the country health people and also the Mount Gambier and Districts Health Advisory Council, and I understand they are happy for that to happen.

I think the main thing is to get this through so that the funds can go back to those who want them and the remaining funds then can be applied to whatever purposes the local community wants them to be applied. This is really just a machinery measure. I thank members in the other house for their speedy consideration of it. As I said, I indicate that the government accepts the amendments.

Ms CHAPMAN: The opposition welcomes the bill as amended in another place. I with to place on the record my personal thanks to the Hon. John Darley for initiating the amendments. I have a slightly different view from the minister's approach with respect to this. During the course of the debate another minister had the conduct of this matter in the lower house (now a former minister). Also, the local member was quite intransigent about the concept of moving the control of these funds and the ultimate decision away from Country Health SA (as has been proposed) to the local people.

The holder of the funds at present, under the Public Charities Funds Act, is the Commissioners of Charitable Funds. These amendments ensure two things: first, the return of the money to those who want their money back—and we all agree on that—and it is simply to facilitate that directly from them; and, secondly, that the function to undertake how the balance is applied for the benefit of the people of Mount Gambier is not to be transferred to Country Health SA but to remain under the control of the commissioners with consultation via the Health Advisory Council.

It has been the opposition's view throughout that the Health Advisory Council, which is now the representative body of the community and of the minister, should be the body to undertake the consultation and put forward recommendations for the distribution of these funds. We welcome this amendment. The machinery operation that it be retained and distributed through the commissioners is certainly acceptable to us. The most important thing for us is that Country Health SA—that is, the department—does not get control of this money and make ultimate decisions but that the local community, through the Health Advisory Council, will have that opportunity. This was implacably opposed by the government, but now I welcome the confirmation of the Minister for Health that his government will accept this and endorses it for the parliament's approval. I join with him in that regard.

The Hon. R.J. McEWEN: It is great that we can now resolve this matter, but in doing so it is important to put on the record the fact that the deputy leader again chooses to totally misrepresent the situation. It is inconceivable that she lives in some parallel universe and cannot even remember the discussions we have had in this place on this bill. To suggest that I was intransigent is just a gross misrepresentation of the facts.

The fact was quite simple. You might remember that she had to go as far as trying to move a privileges motion, for some bizarre reason, as part of having this debate, because she does not even understand the practices in this house. In saying that we would be very happy to consider any amendments and any suggestions between the two houses, the one thing we made very clear—which the deputy leader still has not got in her thimble-sized brain—is that the funds could never be held by—

Mr PISONI: I take a point of order.

Members interjecting:

The CHAIR: Order!

Mr PISONI: I ask that the member withdraw the offensive remark.

The CHAIR: Order! The member referred to is present in the committee. If she wishes to make a point, she makes one herself.

The Hon. R.J. McEWEN: There were two very good reasons put on the record as to why the local Health Advisory Committee could not hold the funds and, what is more, it indicated it did not wish to hold the funds. The problem at the time was that the deputy leader had not even bothered to ring the chairman of the Health Advisory Committee, Mr Grant King. I checked with Mr Grant King and she had not even bothered to check with him what the wishes of the Health Advisory Committee or the local community were. All along, as we know, the Health Advisory Committee wished to be part of the consultation and have the opportunity to express its views. It has that.

What the deputy leader would not accept were two matters of fact: one was that it did not want to do it and the second was that, even if it did, it could not. It could not accept the funds, because under the Taxation Act it was not even allowed to hold the funds. To suggest that we were intransigent in this matter shows again that this lady is not capable of coming into this place and honestly dealing with an issue but would rather, for gross political purposes in my community, misrepresent the facts. We are sick of the deputy leader totally misrepresenting the facts on health generally and this case in particular. Our community expects better of her; we do not think we will ever see any better of her.

The Hon. J.D. HILL: I thank the member for Mount Gambier. I hope we are seeing 12 months of this passion on behalf of his local community nail a few colours to the mast. I congratulate him on that independent voice. The bill is such a simple administrative procedure to allow something to happen.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: The deputy leader tries to play politics. I am not trying to play politics with it. We are just trying to fix up a problem, whatever way you want to colour it. You might have friends down in the Mount Gambier media. It is not going to threaten me.

You can get as many front pages as you like in The Border Watch condemning me. It is not going to change one single vote in the electorate of Kaurna, let me tell you, so go for your life. It will not change a single vote in the electorate of Mawson or any of the other electorates on this side of the house.

So you go ahead and get your front pages in The Border Watch making up stories about what our intentions were. Our intentions have always been honourable and they are to get the local community its money back so that people can decide what they want to do.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: You are bizarre.

Motion carried.