TRADE PROMOTION, PUGLIA REGION

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (15:12): In light of the Premier's answer about cutting funding to hospitals, how does the Premier justify cutting $1.2 million from Keith, Ardrossan, Moonta and Glenelg Community Hospitals while maintaining a $1.2 million program in Puglia?

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) (15:12): Incidentally, I am told that the Sasanelli book is listed on the State Library website as being available. So, Premier, you may be interested to know that, just by the way.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: It may be a popular book—

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: Research, research!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: We might have to go to a second printing; it is obviously a very popular volume. In relation to the country hospitals, as I have told the house on a number of occasions, the government had hard decisions to make in relation to health. We were to cut over the forward estimates some hundreds of millions of dollars. The million dollars or so that we asked the private hospital sector to reduce seemed to me, and seems to us, a reasonable decision. I have met with representatives of each of the boards, we have offered to help them work through the transitional arrangements, and they seem to be grateful for that.