Ambulance Services

Mr KNOLL (Schubert) (14:47): My question is also to the Minister for Health. How many of the 72 ambulance staff and 12 additional ambulances promised under Transforming Health have been established and put on the road?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:47): I was just on Monday visiting our latest group of paramedic interns, the largest group of interns that I think we have ever had, or at least had in living memory, come through the training course for paramedic graduates to become ambulance officers—a group of roughly 20, and there will be another intake in about six weeks' time. They were very, very positive and very, very enthusiastic.

I haven't got the exact numbers, but we are making progress, and I was very happy with this large group. I was going to ask a government member to ask a question about it, but the member for Schubert has beaten them to it. It was absolutely fascinating to see this group of interns go through a real-life training exercise. They were dealing with a car—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: But, no, the answer is at least 20—Deputy Leader of the Opposition—who we have taken in who will go through their intern course. That's the way paramedics get recruited. They have to finish their paramedic degree and then they have to do an internship, so they go out on the road. In the same way doctors go through an internship, the same principle works with paramedics.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Obviously, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition doesn't like ambulance officers, doesn't like paramedics, and that's why she is shouting out. She has some ideological opposition to the hard work our paramedics do. Well, I don't.

Mr GARDNER: Point of order, sir: 98 and 127.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Point of order.

Mr GARDNER: And he's obstructing you as well. He doesn't respect your authority, sir: 98 and 127.

The SPEAKER: I think 127 is a stretch, but I will uphold 98.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: At the MFS training area at Angle Park, an area I think the member for Colton is very, very familiar with, having been a former firie, there was a life exercise going on. They were going through an exercise, where a train had hit a car and the trainee, the interns, had to extract the occupant of the vehicle, in conjunction with the MFS, out of the car. There were about 20 interns involved in this exercise, and I was incredibly impressed with the professionalism of these young people in dealing with an exercise like this.

Mr van Holst Pellekaan interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: The member for Stuart jokes about it; he thinks it's a joking matter.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Well, once again, we see the disdain that the opposition have for our ambulance officers.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: I think the minister has finished, hasn't he?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I've got another two minutes. I've got plenty to say.

The SPEAKER: The minister will not make personal reflections on members of the opposition.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Thank you, sir. I took offence to that comment. My brother is an ambulance officer.

The SPEAKER: Yes, you take offence to a lot of things. Minister.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I apologise, Mr Speaker, for ruffling the feathers of the member for Stuart, but if he wants to be Leader of the Opposition he is going to have to toughen up—he is going to have to toughen up. It's going to take a bit more than that for the member for Stuart, but, Mr Speaker, I digress, I digress, I digress.

Mr GARDNER: Point of order: standing order 127. If a member has a personal reflection against them they should bring it to your attention immediately. The minister acted to apologise and then completely undermined the apology in obstruction of the house. There is a process that resolves—

The SPEAKER: I uphold all those points of order.

Mr GARDNER: —them being named, sir.

The SPEAKER: Minister.

Mr GARDNER: And if you are upholding them, then the minister should now be named.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I was very impressed with the work that was being done by these young interns, not long out of university doing paramedic studies, to see the way they work together to extract a patient (an actor) from a vehicle that was very badly damaged by a train. It was incredible to see the professionalism of this young group. I know the member for Schubert, if he looks it up on my Facebook site, would be able to see the photographs as well and share them with his colleagues.

The Hon. P. Caica: He's interested in other sites.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: There's other sites he's interested in, okay. I know I was very impressed with the work that was being done; it was excellent. We have embarked on a significant recruitment program for new paramedics.