ROYAL ADELAIDE HOSPITAL

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (14:37): My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer confirm that the payments of around $1.1 million a day for 30 years for the new Royal Adelaide Hospital do not include paying for doctors, nurses and medical services?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Treasurer, Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education) (14:37): The payment of $397 million we pay every year, which is about $1.1 million a day, covers the construction of the hospital, the design of the hospital and the ongoing running of the hospital, the maintenance of the hospital, the cleaning and the orderlies, and all the other ancillary costs that go along with running a hospital. The core health functions, we think it is important that those remain—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Grumpy grumble beans have been handed out, I think, to the members of the opposition. Someone has been handing out the grumpy grumble beans. Madam Speaker—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Yes, I think the Leader of the Opposition is the person purveying the said grumble beans and infected her colleagues. The government has always been open about this. We think that those core clinical functions—the treatment, the teaching, the research—are all things that are appropriate to stay within the province of government.