Coronavirus

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (14:29): My question is to the Premier. What contingency measures is the government taking to ensure that normal operations of SA Health's existing commitments to elective surgery patients will continue if a coronavirus outbreak intensifies here?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:29): I've not been presented with any information that would suggest that elective surgery would need to be cancelled with anything like the projection for coronavirus extrapolating from where we are at the moment, but we've got to remain very nimble on this issue. This is a developing situation.

As I was saying earlier in my answer to the house, we have now seen significant outbreaks in the Middle East and also in Europe. This is a very fast-moving situation. What we need to do is be as prepared as we possibly can in South Australia. I am very pleased that the opposition is now seeing fit to ask questions in parliament—two weeks after this has been a fairly significant issue globally. They have finally got around to asking their first questions on this. It was, of course—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —a disgraceful situation when the Chief Public Health Officer, who had a huge amount of work to do—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —was forced to sit there while the opposition played political games in the Budget and Finance Committee, and our Chief Public Health Officer, probably one of the most important positions in the state at the moment, was made to sit there and wait when she had important work to do. It is a disgraceful example—

Mr PICTON: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: The Premier will be seated.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —of just how overtly political this hopeless opposition in South Australia is.

The SPEAKER: Premier, be seated for one moment. Member for Kaurna.

Mr PICTON: Debate.

The SPEAKER: The member for Kaurna on a point of order for debate. The question was about contingency options that exist in regard to elective surgery if the coronavirus continues, is the way I captured the question. It's a fair point of order. I have given the Premier some opportunity to provide some relevant preamble and I ask him respectfully to come back to the substance of the question.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: The question was about preparedness. I think that obviously we have this forum for the opposition to ask questions of the government of the day and we also have committees that exist in the parliament, and in this particular case the Budget and Finance Committee was actually interviewing both the Chief Executive—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —of the Department for Health and Wellbeing—

Mr PICTON: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: The Premier will be seated one moment. Point of order for debate?

Mr PICTON: The question was about elective surgery. This is debate.

The SPEAKER: Yes, I have the point of order. I am listening to the Premier's answer.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: What I was saying was that there are plenty of opportunities to ask important questions.

Mr Brown: Why are you so nervous?

The SPEAKER: Member for Playford!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: They seem a little bit touchy on this subject—

Mr Malinauskas: Why don't you answer the question?

The SPEAKER: Leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —very touchy on this issue. But they had an opportunity because the Chief Executive—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left, I can't hear the Premier.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —of the Department for Health and Wellbeing and the Chief Public Health Officer were at the Budget and Finance Committee. They are in a unique position to be able to provide information to parliamentary committees on information that those opposite—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —see fit to ask. It was interesting that they didn't see fit to ask any questions on the coronavirus or our preparedness or, in fact, let the Chief Public Health Officer even speak.

Mr Picton: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Premier, be seated. Has the Premier finished? The Premier has concluded his answer. Is there another question?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir: the opposition were calling point of order and you ignored us, sir.

The SPEAKER: In my view, I believe that the Premier was wrapping up, which he did.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: No, sir, he was politicising a legitimate question—

The SPEAKER: Yes.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —and you sat and watched.

The SPEAKER: The Premier has concluded his answer. I have made note of the member for Kaurna's point of order and I was listening carefully. When members on my left interject, it's a—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: We weren’t, sir: we were sitting quietly.

The SPEAKER: Member for West Torrens, if you are going to argue back, you are giving me very little option on what I can do from here other than to name you. Members on my left, if you're going to call points of order, fine, but when there are interjections it's difficult to listen to what members are answering. I respectfully ask for those interjections to cease so that I can hear the answer; if not, it makes it very, very difficult to make a judgement call on the spot when there is that wall of noise.