Aboriginal Health

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (15:00): My question is to the Minister for Health. How is the government supporting residents on the APY lands to improve their access to health care closer to country?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (15:00): I would like to thank the member for Giles for his question and acknowledge his keen interest in the delivery of health care on the APY lands. In July last year, while attending the Aboriginal Health Summit in Darwin, the federal government announced capital funding to Western Desert Dialysis, also known as Purple House, a non-government organisation, to set up a dialysis clinic in Pukatja.

This came as a bit of a surprise, given there had been no consultation with the state government or SA Health about this proposal and it appeared to have come out of the blue. It was later admitted that the reason the federal government had neglected to discuss this issue with us was because they simply did not realise that Pukatja was in South Australia. After assessing the feasibility of the proposal, I am pleased—

Mr Marshall: That's offensive.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: It is offensive. It is offensive that the federal government would announce funding for a program in South Australia not realising that the town was actually in South Australia. I am glad to see that the Leader of the Opposition agrees with me about how offensive the federal government sometimes can be.

After assessing the feasibility of the proposal, I am pleased to inform the house that SA Health is now in a position to enter into a formal contract with Purple House for the delivery of dialysis services to Pukatja. There will also be an MOU with SA Health, Purple House and Nganampa Health Council to clearly identify the roles of each agency. Nganampa Health Council is the provider of health services in Pukatja, and we respect this role and look forward to working with Nganampa and Purple House on this important development.

One of the major hurdles will be the number of suitable houses available for patients in the Pukatja area. Discussions with Housing SA and the APY council will continue to ensure this issue is resolved by the time the unit is operational. Another consideration of SA Health is how this service may affect services currently offered at Port Augusta and the cross-border flows with the NT government. Discussions are continuing to occur with the NT government health department so that services are improved through the development of the Pukatja service.

It goes without saying that having a stationary unit will lead to better outcomes for residents needing the service. Currently, patients are either treated by the mobile dialysis unit or relocate to either Alice Springs or Port Augusta to receive their treatment. While this has not been ideal, it is to date the only way to ensure patients are treated with best practice and in accordance with safety and quality guidelines. However, as the demand for this treatment rises, it is becoming evident that we need to increase our services on the lands.

While better consultation and perhaps a map may have hastened this process, the state government is now prepared to commit in this important health area. The government takes the health and wellbeing of our Indigenous population very seriously. This important step forward comes on top of the 2016-17 budget, which commits $49 million over the next four years to restore Closing the Gap funding after the federal government took it away.