House of Assembly Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time KordaMentha Report KordaMentha Report Mr PICTON House of Assembly Kaurna KordaMentha Report Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (14:34): My question is to the Premier. When will the government close 90 hospital beds in the next seven months, including the immediate closure of 40 winter beds, as stated in the corporate liquidator KordaMentha's diagnostic report to government? With your leave— The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Would the member for Kaurna like leave to introduce facts to the house? Mr PICTON House of Assembly Mr PICTON: Yes, please. Leave granted. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! I am trying to be fair. Mr PICTON House of Assembly Mr PICTON: Thank you, sir. The KordaMentha diagnostic report refers to an interim strategy at CALHN that includes, and I quote, 'Flex down 90 beds by June 2019, commencing with 40 winter beds. Target benefit $7.9 million.' The Hon. Z.L. Bettison House of Assembly The Hon. Z.L. Bettison: Cut, cut, cut. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The Premier has the call. The member for Ramsay will not say 'cut, cut, cut', and she is called to order. The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly Dunstan Premier The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:35): My answer is the same as last time: we will have the requisite number of beds. Those beds are— Members interjecting: The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Those opposite are being mischievous as per usual. They had 16 years and they delivered very, very expensive and poor outcomes for the people of South Australia. Let's be quite clear: South Australia has the highest per capita expenditure in terms of health with the worst outcomes. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: It takes a certain sort of arrogance and incompetence— The Hon. V.A. Chapman interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Deputy leader! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —now, that's an impressive combination— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —to actually argue for continued wasteful expenditure. Because when you waste money in your health budget you can't spend it on the services that the people of South Australia deserve. We've got a completely different approach: we are putting patients first. We are putting the people of South Australia first. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Hurtle Vale is warned for a second and final time. The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We are being backed by the clinicians. We are being backed by the people who are working in this area. The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Member for Lee! The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL House of Assembly The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Most importantly, we are being backed by the people of South Australia. We won that election, they rejected your plan, they wanted somebody to fix your mess—and that's precisely what we are doing. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Waite. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order!