Oakden Mental Health Facility

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:37): Supplementary: does the same commitment of the government that I have just quoted also apply to ministers?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:37): Yes, it does apply to ministers, and we apply the same scrutiny and oversight to our work as we expect from any of the managers in the system. Indeed—

Mr Marshall: How did that go?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Well, you have seen how it's gone because you had a minister—

Mr Marshall: Yes, it's a disaster.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: No, you have had a minister who, when this matter was drawn to her attention, undertook the most significant inquiry in relation to this matter, and it wasn't the Leader of the Opposition, it wasn't the media. It was, sadly and thankfully, the families and also the community visitor who drew to the attention of this minister the level of concern that was occurring at this facility. Despite the fact that even the Chief Psychiatrist himself, who had been at the facility for 2½ hours in the months leading up to the commissioning of this report—even he did not understand the nature and the extent of the difficulties that were occurring in this facility.

Mr Marshall: Come on, you had report after report for years.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It's simply inaccurate to say that we had report and report after years. For those who have been referencing back to 2007 and suggesting there had been 10 years of neglect of this facility, we had the speedy action taken by the then minister for mental health, the Hon. Gail Gago in the other place, who put in place a review and an ACF oversight. That was put in place for three years, and at the end of that period the then minister for mental health, in 2011, was given a very clear briefing from the health department that the facility had turned around, that it had new leadership, that it had introduced a learning culture and it had a clean bill of health.

So, this nonsense that's been perpetrated by those opposite that this is something that had been left neglected for 10 years and then was drawn to the attention of the minister in a way where she should have acted earlier is simply false. When a series of matters arose towards the end of last year and it was drawn to her attention, she commissioned an extensive inquiry, an extensive inquiry which has led to the report that we now have—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —and it was made public before those opposite gleefully jumped on board the bad news. They only get a spring in their step when something goes wrong in South Australia. The rest of the time they are asleep—the laziest opposition in the country.

The SPEAKER: I call to order the members for Hartley, Mount Gambier and Goyder. I warn the members for Hartley and Mount Gambier and I warn for the second and final time the leader and the members for Morialta and Adelaide.