Mental Health

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (15:19): I rise to call on the state government to reinstate funding in tomorrow's budget for the 10 community mental health respite beds in Mount Gambier. This is coming at a huge cost to our community. Not only are the 10 respite beds being taken away, it impacts up to 15 staff and has been accommodated over four leased premises.

I would like to ask the minister, I notice the minister is on the floor of the house today: on what clinical evidence were the beds reinstated in Whyalla over Mount Gambier? If there is clear evidence of that, I would love to see it tabled in this place so at least I can go back to my community with some understanding of why one area that had a cut has had funding reinstated, yet another area of our state has not, as opposed to there being one Labor member of parliament in one area and one Liberal in another. I would be upset if that were the reason for it.

Was there any consideration given to reinstating five beds in Whyalla and Mount Gambier so the bucket of money would spread between both? I understand the seriousness of the possible closure of Arrium and the steelworks in Whyalla. However, I point the minister to the dairy crisis which is occurring in the South-East of South Australia and the need for these beds at such a critical time. With the closure of the 10 beds in Mount Gambier, for what remaining period does the government have to pay rental on those properties and at what cost? Those are some questions I have of the minister.

I will address a point that I keep getting asked about time and time again, and that is a reduction in federal funding. I took this up with our federal member and he informs me that there is more money going into health every year. More money this year, more money next year, more money the year after.

Members interjecting:

Mr BELL: The difference is the federal government has not tied that money—

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Disabilities is called to order.

Mr BELL: —to specific areas. The federal government has not tied that money to a national partnership where they direct the state government to spend in certain areas. I am standing here saying this state government cannot be trusted with country health. Maybe there needs to be an exemption that, for South Australia, the health funding gets retied back to areas of need so that the government that currently sits in front of me cannot cherrypick areas they are going to fund and let other areas wither on the vine.

The major issue around this is that it goes back to old medicine, or old procedures, where acute care will be inundated by cases that could have been prevented or minimised at an earlier stage. That is what these respite beds have provided in the past at an 80 per cent occupancy rate. These beds have and were being used to a rate of 80 per cent on average. As I said, this is a backward step, it is a retrograde step, which is going to put more pressure on our acute mental health facilities at the hospital. The cost of that is going to be far more significant than having preventative measures in there.

So, I call on the federal government, when the Liberals are re-elected, to treat South Australia differently, to retie funding to a state program where mental health gets the funding it deserves, because this state government cannot be trusted. The issue—

The Hon. L.A. Vlahos interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Disabilities will hear the member for Mount Gambier in silence. She is warned.

Mr BELL: Thank you, sir. What I find intriguing is that there is no problem for funding for prison expansions. I believe tomorrow we are going to get another 40 beds in Mount Gambier for another prison expansion. This is year in, year out prison expansions in Mount Gambier, yet no money for the related agencies to support these prisoners. It has an impact on our community and on families moving into our community, where a partner, or so forth, is in prison, and of course when they are released into our community these services are needed. I call on the state government to reinstate this funding.