KEITH AND DISTRICT HOSPITAL

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (14:49): My question again is to the Minister for Health. What is the government's plan for the 18 elderly residents whose home is the Keith Hospital, who will lose their home when the hospital closes due to the government's budget cuts?

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (14:59): Madam Speaker, of course, that is a hypothetical question based on a claim—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: The responsibility for the Keith Hospital is in the hands of the Keith Hospital board, not the state government. We as a government—

Dr McFetridge interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Morphett!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: You are talking through your hat, my friend.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: It's true; the buck stops with me for public hospitals.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: The buck stops with me for public hospitals. I am not responsible for the Keith Hospital. In fact—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: —the Keith Hospital board is responsible for any decision it made in relation to Keith Hospital. The majority of its funding comes from the commonwealth and from private sources. The state government's funding has been reduced, but it is still a substantial contribution to the emergency department. If the Keith Hospital seeks support and help from us to work through the transition from—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: It is very difficult, Madam Speaker, to get a thought out because of the constant interjections from the other side. They ask questions, then refuse to listen by making commentary on the side which is based on a false and malicious fear campaign. The state government's—

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will be quiet; you are on your third warning.

The Hon. J.D. HILL: The state government is prepared—as I have said publicly and privately—to work with the Keith Hospital board if they choose to open their books to us to help them through their transition into the new arrangements. The decisions they make are their decisions. We are not responsible for the arrangements they have put in place or the decisions they have made. We are not responsible for the fact that their budget has been—

Mr Pederick: It's two hours from Tailem Bend to Bordertown.

The SPEAKER: Member for Hammond!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: The government is not responsible for the decision-making processes of the Keith Hospital, for the increase in payments that they have made—

Mr Venning: Who is?

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Who is? The Keith Hospital management board is responsible, member for Schubert. That is who is responsible. It is a private hospital; it is not a public hospital.

Mr Venning: So, you aren't? You aren't at all? You walk away, not responsible—not, not, not.

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Schubert! Minister, I presume you have completed your answer. The member for Florey.