Repatriation General Hospital

Mrs POWER (Elder) (15:43): I rise today to talk about an issue that I, along with many of my parliamentary colleagues, including the members for Waite, Black and Gibson and the federal member for Boothby, fought very hard for during the state election campaign and one that I am proud to have been able to deliver for the residents living not only in my electorate but across southern Adelaide, and that is reactivating the Repat.

The Repatriation General Hospital, affectionally known as the Repat, resides within my seat of Elder, and its closure was a big blow to our local community. The former Labor government announced the closure of the Repat in 2015. What followed this announcement was outrage by medical staff, veterans and the community at large and such outrage was, without a doubt, justified.

The Repat Hospital had been gifted to the state government by the federal government. It was a special place with significant meaning to many South Australians. Further, the Labor government had promised it would never, ever close the Repat. So, in the face of such betrayal, supporters across the state rallied together to protest against the Labor government's decision to close and sell the Repat site.

In opposition, the Liberal Party recognised the previous Labor government's failings and we sought an alternative way forward. We formed a dedicated 'renew the Repat' working committee, which included the now Minister for Health and Wellbeing, members of the local community, health professionals and experts, and representatives of the veteran community. The committee met almost every single fortnight.

We worked extremely hard to find alternative ways forward in light of Labor's reckless decisions. We hosted three community forums prior to the election, as well as setting up information booths at Mitcham Shopping Centre and Castle Plaza Shopping Centre. We letterboxed our electorates with information on Labor's plans and what could be done to stop the development at the Repat site. We did indeed fight hard on this issue alongside the community, listening to what the community wanted and responding to what was needed with our policy to revive the Repat.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many volunteers who gave up their time to help revive the Repat and drive this change for our community. Thank you to Gary Owens, Augustinus Krikke and Jock McCowan, and all those who slept on the steps of Parliament House for those 161 cold nights; Professor Warren Jones, Elizabeth Hobbin, Christine Doerr, John Besanko, Neil and Carla Baron and Dr Robert Black, who together formed the committee that continues to meet today; the late Guy Bowering; and every single individual who signed the petition or attended one of my community forums.

We promised that, if elected, we would save the Repat from Labor's wrecking ball known as Transforming Health and ensure the site was used as a genuine health precinct. We are delivering on our promise. In last week's budget, we revealed $20 million forgone in revenue to stop Labor's sale of the Repat and allow the site to be reactivated as a genuine health precinct. The Repat is a big site and there is much room on the site outside of us delivering on our commitments. Unlike the previous government, we are consulting with the local community, health experts and professionals to collectively determine the best use of the site.

Last month, we held our fifth community forum regarding the Repat. This was our second since we won the election. The latest community forum had an incredible turnout, with approximately 170 people coming together to hear from the Minister for Health and Wellbeing and the expert panel, which included Professor Warren Jones, Elizabeth Hobbin and Christine Doerr about the possibilities for the site. Community consultation closed just a few days ago, and I have been advised that there have been over 1,000 submissions. Again, this shows how passionate our community is about the Repat.

The feedback from my local community has been overwhelmingly positive and helped place our new Marshall Liberal government as a driver of positive change for our community. I am very proud to have been part of this change. As we begin to see the site reactivated as a health precinct, I would like to thank the community for their overwhelming support and dedication to this issue. We have shown that there is great power in people coming together for a common and good cause. Together we can create positive change for our community, and together that is exactly what we are doing now.