Women's and Children's Hospital

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (14:23): My question is again to the Premier. How much additional debt will be required to fund the remaining construction works for the new Women's and Children's Hospital due beyond the forward estimates?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:23): I am delighted to provide an update to the house on the Women's and Children's Hospital. As you would be aware, sir, the former government said that they would have a co-located Women's and Children's and Royal Adelaide Hospital arrangement. They reneged on that promise and, in fact, between the 2014 election and the 2018 election they downgraded and said that they would only move one component of the Women's and Children's Hospital to be co-located with the Royal Adelaide Hospital. This was completely against the advice—the clinical, considered advice—of our medical fraternity in South Australia.

We were delighted, pleased and proud to say that we would implement what was required to provide the women and children in South Australia with the very best care. We immediately set to work on forming government to put a group of clinicians together to develop a plan. This group has been working diligently, as you would appreciate, sir. It's not the sort of hospital that you can just click your fingers and create.

One of the major problems we have had as a state with the development of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital is the lack of consultation that went into that project, leaving us with a project that we are trying to manage at the moment. So we are putting all the work in up-front to make sure that we can have the very best facility. We have put $550 million into the forward estimates. That money is there—

Mr Picton: How much is it going to cost?

The SPEAKER: The member for Kaurna is called to order.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —in the final years of the forward estimates. There will be more that is required, and we will update the house when that information is available.