Public Health System

Ms LUETHEN (King) (15:16): I rise today to speak about an issue of significant importance to a number of King residents and that is the current state of our public health system and my constituents' desire to finally see our local services improve.

Prior to the 2018 state election, the King community made it abundantly clear to me how important a better health system and services are to them and the importance of being treated close to home. With this in mind, it was my absolute pleasure to host our Minister for Health and Wellbeing to facilitate my community having firsthand access and an opportunity to speak directly with the minister and hear about the government's plans for our health system and the progress that we have been making to date.

For the forum, we were hosted by the dedicated members of the Salisbury RSL. The turnout was fantastic, with many engaging questions and conversations being held on the night. What was most inspiring was to see how engaged and interested the King community was in talking about our health services. Their questions covered topics such as our local hospitals and elective surgery. They were very pleased to hear of the reductions in elective surgery waiting lists. We talked about mental health and there was so much positive feedback, which I always hear about the people who work in our local hospitals and how they really care about our local community.

When I am out in my community, I encourage people to have their say and to put their feelings forward whenever they require further information or if they want their feedback taken on board. This is so important to help me best represent them when I am in this place. These forums are another important way for me to learn what matters most to people in King. A major concern that became apparent on the night at the forum was the continued interest in our mental health services. This was reflective of the many conversations I had when doorknocking prior to the election.

The minister shared with our community that, contrary to many reports, there has in fact been no reduction in funding for disability or mental health services in South Australia. Funding of $6.8 million has actually been transferred to the National Disability Insurance Scheme to cover the services for those clients who are now eligible for transfer to the NDIS. This is exactly what was proposed to happen and it has been delivered. It has nothing to do with the state budget decision and everything to do with the NDIS agreements, which were put in place by the previous government.

I also mention that I am a member of the Social Development Committee and at the moment we are reviewing mental health services in South Australia and how that transition is going. I look forward to being able to provide further updates in the future. I have since also received correspondence from residents who attended my health forum, and they were extremely thankful for the minister's time and willingness to answer as many questions as possible. A big thankyou to Robert and Michelle Howard from the Salisbury RSL who assisted with the set-up and close-down for such a successful event.

Prior to my health forum I also attended the Salisbury RSL for its working dogs dedication day held on Friday 7 June. This event was held to recognise all government working dogs and their handlers, who provide a valuable contribution to the security and wellbeing of South Australians. This is something we might not hear about as much in our usual annual commemorative services, and I was so happy to play just a very small role in recognising these dogs and their handlers. It was quite funny watching the photos being taken on the day, trying to get the dogs to turn around to have their photos taken.

Unfortunately, since both of these events there has been an incident that saw the Salisbury RSL broken into and a fair bit of damage had taken place. I am deeply sympathetic to the RSL and know that through the hard work and dedication of the committee the club will be back on its feet soon. I thank everyone who has offered their support to the club since.

I would also like to encourage every member of the King community to visit our many local RSLs, to pop in for a drink or a meal. Each time they do this they are adding to the support the RSL needs to keep on providing their services and providing ongoing support to our veterans. The committees do such a great job, and everyone involved should be incredibly proud of what they do.