Lyell McEwin Regional Volunteer Association

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (15:22): I rise today to say a few words about the Lyell McEwin Regional Volunteers Association based at the Lyell McEwin Hospital, and also to heap praise on the hospital, the minister will be pleased to hear.

I had the good fortune to represent the Premier at the association's AGM this morning, and I know that other members have a longstanding association with the Lyell McEwin Regional Volunteers Association, including yourself Deputy Speaker and the members for Wright, Light and Taylor. My involvement, of course, goes back to my days working for my predecessor, Lea Stevens, who was not only the local MP working across the road (as I am now) but who was also the health minister; so, we had occasion to visit the association on many occasions, and we were always very impressed by the work that it did.

At that time until quite recently, of course, they were under the able leadership of Andy Fryar who took the association, I am told, to be the largest hospital-based volunteer organisation in the country. Andy himself is recognised as something of a guru in volunteer management. He has moved on now, but I do want to pay my respects to him. I am not sure what he is doing now, but I am sure he is using the skills that he learnt and developed at the Lyell McEwin wherever he has gone.

I had the pleasure of meeting with the new executive officer, Alan Graham, the other day, who also addressed the AGM this morning with his vision of that organisation going forward. It is fair to say, and Alan by no means shied away from this at our meeting or at the AGM this morning, that the association faces significant challenges at the moment, not least because of the loss of the tender for a cafe, which was disappointing and sad.

They tendered for the cafe position that they have held for a long time. They use it for a significant part of their fundraising. It was disappointing that they were not successful in that tender. It was certainly sad and disappointing for the organisation but it is also fair to say that it reflected some significant shortcomings in the governance and the financial management of that organisation.

The new executive officer is not shying away from that either. He spoke this morning about the future, not about the past. They accept that that particular stream of revenue has closed up for them, which was significant, but he is talking about developing their other streams, their fundraising capacity through their Thrifty V op shops.

His focus, I am pleased to hear, will be based around the hospital's needs rather than what in the past has been an ad hoc approach to fundraising, where they raise money and then see what the hospital might need or their board of management decides where to spend the money. This time, and going into the future, they will be consulting every step of the way with the hospital—with hospital management, with hospital staff—about what the fundraising should be for and how much they need, working from the beginning to the end rather than from the end the beginning, which is really good.

I am very pleased he has taken the reins, and is claiming to bring values such as integrity, respect and transparency to the governance of the association. It is not that it did not have integrity before, but I think it does bring a fresh vision to that association.

While I am on the subject of the Lyell McEwin I would like to mention, with your indulgence Deputy Speaker, the midwives and staff at the Lyell McEwin who, six weeks ago tomorrow, delivered my son Felix and treated me and my wife Ann—in particular, obviously—with nothing but respect and the utmost professionalism. I have nothing but praise for the Lyell McEwin Hospital, its birthing unit and the midwives who work there, particularly Jill, as well as the student midwives who come from the University of South Australia and who essentially work as midwives in the hospital. I want to publicly extend my thanks to them, and want the health minister to know that he has an excellent facility there at the Lyell McEwin, as we all do in the North. Long may it reign.