HEALTH, ORACLE CORPORATE SYSTEM

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood—Leader of the Opposition) (14:58): Can the minister outline to the house whether the number contained on page 44 of the Auditor-General's Report—that being the updated approved cost of $62.44 million for the Oracle system—will be the final amount or whether there has been any further slippage since the numbers were given to the Auditor-General in December 2012?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for Defence Industries, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:58): Well, give me an opportunity to have a look at the Auditor-General's Report and I will be more than happy to come back to the house with a precise answer, but can I say that Oracle is absolutely critical to improving the financial management of the Department for Health.

One of the key issues I have heard the opposition complain about is prompt payment of bills, and the Oracle system is a tool that will be very important to ensuring that Department for Health bills are paid in a timely fashion, which is something I am sure all members of the house would want to see. It is a necessary investment which we have made into improving the financial management of the Department for Health, and I can't understand why anyone would take issue with that.