Emergency Departments

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:51): My question is to the Minister for Health. Will medical and surgical training opportunities be reduced as a result of the government's downgrades of emergency departments?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:51): I welcome the opposition's sudden interest in training positions for medical staff in our hospitals. It is something on which they have been strangely silent. Of course, we will work with universities and medical colleges to ensure that we continue training health professionals across our health system, whether they be nurses, whether they be medical staff.

There is one thing which has happened which I cannot help, but perhaps the opposition could help me if they had a bit of backbone. Last year, the federal government cut the PGPPP scheme, the scheme whereby the federal government provides funding to provide training places. Where do these training places predominantly go? Somewhere I would have thought members of the opposition, if they were really interested in regional South Australia, something they would be particularly interested in, because these training positions—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: The member for Mount Gambier may be the exception to the rule in the opposition. He is someone who is in touch with his community. The simple fact is the Abbott government cut PGPPP funding which predominantly provides training places in regional South Australia to ensure we have a pipeline of medical practitioners who will go and work in regional South Australia. We have enormous challenges coming up in terms of an adequate medical workforce in regional South Australia and PGPPP provided training opportunities in rural areas because we know that practitioners who have done their training in rural areas are likely to continue a career in those rural areas. It is absolutely critical—

Mr MARSHALL: Point of order, Mr Speaker: I ask that you instruct the minister to return to the substance of the question.

The SPEAKER: No, I disagree with the leader. I think the Minister for Health is being germane. The leader asked the question and now the minister is answering it, but I do thank you for the pause during which I can call to order the members for Schubert and Heysen, the deputy leader and the member for Chaffey. I warn the member for Heysen the first time. None of those arise from the opposition's merciless heckling of the Premier on the first Dorothy. The minister.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: The PGPPP scheme has been very important to ensure that in regional South Australia we have a pipeline of medical practitioners willing to go out and do the work in those rural areas where sometimes it can be extremely hard to recruit a general practitioner. What did the Abbott government do? Cut it. Simply cut it. I would have thought that an opposition seriously interested in health, and particularly interested in looking after—

Mr GARDNER: Point of order, Mr Speaker: the minister is debating. This is absolutely nothing to do with reduction of places in emergency departments, particularly when he starts talking about what he would have thought an opposition would or would not do.

The SPEAKER: We do have a federal government, and the minister is allowed, in answering, to criticise a decision of the federal government. Perhaps the minister could move on from tying the state opposition to that federal government.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I would simply say, Mr Speaker, that if the Liberal Party were serious about training positions in health in our state they would have said something when the federal government cut the PGPPP scheme last year.

The SPEAKER: I specifically asked the minister not to do that, so I uphold the member for Morialta's point of order. The member for Napier.

The Hon. P. Caica: What a shame; we wanted another one of your questions, Steven.

The SPEAKER: The member for Colton is called to order.

The Hon. P. Caica: Sorry, sir.