King Electorate

Ms LUETHEN (King) (15:40): It is with great pleasure that I rise in the house today to talk about some of the key priorities that are making progress and how I and the Marshall Liberal government continue to listen, fight for and deliver better services for people living in King. Firstly, I will mention the terrific progress being made to improve our local health services.

Under the Marshall Liberal government, palliative care options are increasing and diversifying to increase access throughout not only King but also throughout the state. The Marshall Liberal government is making substantial investments in palliative care. The Marshall Liberal government is committed to more effectively supporting people in the final stages of their life, and $16 million is being invested from 2018-19 and 2020-21 to:

expand community outreach palliative care services from the current weekday service to provide a 24-hour a day service seven days a week; and

to deliver on the $96 million Modbury Hospital redevelopment, which will include a 20-bed palliative care unit and which is forecast to be completed in December 2021.

Additionally, a $58 million expansion to double the capacity of the Lyell McEwin Hospital's emergency department is currently underway and due for completion in 2022, and of course we have already delivered the significant expansion of the car parking facility at Lyell McEwin. The Lyell McEwin Hospital and Modbury Hospital deserve this investment and expansion, as they provide health services for around 402,000 people living in northern Adelaide, as well as people in regional areas.

The northern area of Adelaide is currently the highest population growth area in South Australia, and by 2026 it is expected a quarter of the state's population will be living in the north. The Lyell McEwin Hospital is the biggest employer in the City of Playford, employing 5,185 people, and at Modbury Hospital we are certainly showing people in King that we have listened to their feedback. We are returning health services to and easing pressure on our emergency departments, providing access to a higher level of care closer to home, growing and strengthening surgical services, providing more privacy and a home-like environment for palliative care, upgrading facilities and enhancing the experience for patients, visitors and staff.

This major upgrade of Modbury Hospital will provide facilities that meet the needs of patients, staff and visitors now and into the future. In terms of education, it is also so exciting to see our Marshall Liberal government investing in critical local infrastructure with the $15.5 million upgrade to the Golden Grove High School. Golden Grove High has over 1,300 students right now, and this will increase significantly in student numbers in 2022 when the year 7 transition to high school takes place.

Golden Grove High is now 31 years old, and over the past 12 months there have been significant building improvements and additions to the facilities in the surrounding Gleeson College and Pedare Christian College at the same location, and they have each successfully created more modern learning spaces for their students. We are now making a similar investment in Golden Grove High to ensure that the King community access equitable learning outcomes at this important site.

Lastly, I wish to highlight the good news about recent announcements made at Salisbury East High School. The Minister for Education paid us a visit to outline the new year 7 to high school establishment grant funding arrangements, and he chatted with our year 10 students Sharif Sharifullah, Seyyed Ahmadi and Amber Pratt about the prospect of the year 7s becoming part of the Salisbury East High School from 2022 onwards. Salisbury East High School will receive at least $120,000 of new funding, and it will be used to update the internal environment that will welcome the year 7s to high school. This is in addition to over $300,000, which the school received recently to update the facilities.

You can hear more about the establishment of these grants and listen to the proud way that our students' views were not only shared at the high school but also shared on 7NEWS Adelaide. I am really proud of the investment we are making in King and the fact that we will continue to deliver better services that matter.