Royal Adelaide Hospital

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (14:44): Thank you, Mr Speaker, a supplementary: just to be clear, minister, the commercial acceptance of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital will be September next year rather than April?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:44): I'm not saying September: what I am saying is in the second half of next year. We haven't put a date on that, but we do expect it to be in the second half of 2016 and, yes, that is the date upon which we will start moving patients. To make it as clear as we possibly can, that would be in the second half of 2016. Under the contract, there is a process by which we are able to do testing and so on at the hospital to make sure that the services and so on are all working, basically to enable us to make sure that the building is in a state ready to use as a hospital. There is 90 days for that, and that 90 days, yes, is prior to us moving into the hospital.

As the contract currently stands, that would be in January 2016 with us moving to the hospital in April. As I have said, our independent advice would suggest that it is more likely to be in the second half of 2016, but let's be quite clear about this. I am not sure if many people here have built a house but it is not unusual when you are building a house for significant alterations to the date of delivery. I know there were dates pushed back consistently when I was building my house 10 years ago. AVJennings did a great job, but it took substantially longer than the builder had initially indicated. With the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, we are talking about something of complexity infinitely greater than the building of even my residential house, which is a fairly simple four-bedroom, modest property.

The SPEAKER: With pizza oven.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: With pizza oven, indeed. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have to say it is a rather amazing feat of modern engineering that five years since they actually started the construction, they will land this hospital within at very worst a few months after it was meant to. I think it is quite extraordinary. For the opposition to be jumping up and down making a huge deal about a hospital perhaps being a few months late is quite extraordinary, given that you are talking about something of such enormous complexity. I think it is remarkable that they are able to land this hospital within at very worst a few months of when we are expected to.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Indeed, but I am always more than happy to take questions in the chamber and talk at length about our new Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The SPEAKER: I warn the member for Stuart for the second and final time. Normally he is well behaved but he is sitting in the member for Unley's seat today.