House of Assembly Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2) 53 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Health Budget Health Budget Mr MARSHALL House of Assembly Dunstan Leader of the Opposition Health Budget Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:56): Supplementary: can the minister clarify to the house that he is talking about somewhere between 600 and 800 fewer acute beds in South Australia when Transforming Health is fully implemented? The Hon. J.J. SNELLING House of Assembly Playford Minister for Health Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Minister for the Arts Minister for Health Industries Health Budget The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:56): I do not have a figure in mind. I have simply stated facts, and the facts are that currently we have 2.6 per thousand. I would like to see that closer to the average. I am not nominating a particular target because it will depend upon any number of factors. What I— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Colton is— The Hon. P. Caica House of Assembly The Hon. P. Caica: Frustrated. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: You may be frustrated, but you are also called to order for the first time, and the member for Stuart is warned for the second and final time. The minister. The Hon. J.J. SNELLING House of Assembly The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I am not going to nominate a number because I do not have a target as such, other than to say I would like to see it closer to the national average than it currently is. I have been saying this for the last nine months. There is nothing new. It is nice to— Ms Chapman House of Assembly Ms Chapman: Tell the truth, Jack. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The deputy leader is very close to departing. The Hon. J.J. SNELLING House of Assembly The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: —know that the Leader of the Opposition suddenly has an interest in health policy in this state, but there is nothing I have said today which I have not already said before, and that is simply the fact that I would like to see the number of beds we have closer to the national average. There is no reason we cannot get ourselves down to something close to the national average. Having said that, I should also point out, as I have said previously, that we do clearly need more subacute beds. We have more acute beds, but we certainly need far more subacute beds. We need to change the bed mix that we have in South Australia, and I do not think there is any commentator in regard to health policy in this country who would deny that.