Women's Hospital

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:11): Does the minister envisage a significant increase in the number of women's beds in the new hospital, given that he provided the people of South Australia yesterday with the budget of $535 million? Can he now tell us how many beds that is based upon?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:11): What I can guarantee the house is that the new facility will provide greater capacity. The Liberal Party, the opposition—

Mr Gardner: How do you not know this?

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Health will be seated. The member for Morialta has been through his warnings. If I hear another word from him outside standing orders, he shall depart. Minister.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: The rationale for co-locating the women's hospital with the new Royal Adelaide Hospital is to have the wraparound services—the intensivists, the vascular surgery, the ICU—co-located. It seems as though the Liberal Party in this state are making the same mistake they have made over the last 10 years. They know the new Royal Adelaide Hospital—how popular it's going to be, how loved it's going to be and, suddenly, you can see the terror in their eyes as they realise for the last 10 years they have been on the wrong side of this debate. And now what do we hear? The same old trite rubbish you expect from the Liberal Party in this state—the same trite rubbish.

This is going to be a great outcome for women in this state. It's going to be a great outcome for women having complex birthing who need the services of a quaternary hospital co-located. This is something from my earliest days as health minister in my meetings with the AMA they were calling for, and this is something we are happy to deliver on.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Unlike the opposition, who, going in to the last election, what did they have to say on this particular issue? Absolutely nothing.

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert, the leader and the members for Goyder and Hammond are called to order. The members for Mount Gambier, Schubert, Adelaide, Davenport and Hammond and the leader are warned, and the member for Davenport is warned for the second and the very last time. Leader.