Repatriation General Hospital

Mrs POWER (Elder) (14:41): My question is to the minister representing the Minister for Health. Can the minister update the house on how the Marshall Liberal government is building what matters for the residents of southern Adelaide?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Point of order: on the same one I raised previously, sir. The question contained debate—and the same debate at that.

The SPEAKER: I hear the point of order; I don't agree. The questions are different. There was the introduction of fact in the first version of the member for King's question. I don't accept the point of order in relation to that expression. The Minister for Education, representing the Minister for Health.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (14:42): I am very pleased to have this question from the member for Elder, who cares deeply both about the health of her community and about what matters to her community. A demonstration of what matters to the people of Elder and indeed the people of South Australia couldn't have been clearer than when the veterans, who were on the steps of Parliament House for that great length of time, collected in excess of 100,000 signatures, the biggest petition in the history of South Australia, to demonstrate that what mattered to the people of South Australia and what mattered to the people of Elder was indeed a secure future for the Repat as a health precinct, as opposed to the Leader of the Opposition's view as health minister, which is that it should be apartments and cafes.

This government has, through the health portfolio, revitalised the Repat, and that is a body of work that will continue. It's part of a $1 billion investment that this government has on the books for the health portfolio and part of our $12.9 billion investment in building what matters for the people of South Australia. There is a range of programs that are particularly beneficial to the people of southern Adelaide, the people in the member for Elder's electorate and the broader community.

Of course, some of these build on the circumstances that we found ourselves in when we came to government, a situation where the previous government's policy of the Transforming Health experiment would have seen the Repat closed—in fact, did see the Repat closed—saw Noarlunga downgraded and saw Flinders Medical Centre left as the busiest ED in Adelaide. The Repat has been revitalised. The apartment and cafe project has been replaced by a health precinct.

Not only did we cancel the sale of the site but a $100 million investment in the Repat is seeing it revitalised. We have already delivered on our promise to deliver a 12-bed specialist advanced dementia unit, which has been operational since mid-August. We have also completed building works on the 18-bed neurobehavioural unit, which will be operational later this year. Work is progressing on phase 2 of the project, with demolition to make space for the new town square, which is well underway.

One thing about these projects is that they are not just about building what matters for the health system. They are also delivering jobs, which are so critically needed at this point in time given our economic challenge presented by the coronavirus pandemic. In relation to the revitalisation of the Repat, I am sure the member for Elder will be thrilled to know that there are 500 jobs attached to this project, jobs for people bringing home pay cheques for their families every week.

The Southern Health Expansion Plan is also a critically important project for the members of the member for Elder's community and the broader health system. There is $86 million of investment into Flinders, Noarlunga and the Repat. It is transforming the Flinders hospital emergency department—which, as I said before, is the busiest ED in the state—into the largest ED in the state, with an increase in treatment bays of 50 per cent, setting up that ED to deliver the service for the people who are using that service and so need it.

The Southern Health Expansion Plan has already delivered a new 24-bed ward to Noarlunga Hospital. That will enable the relocation of patients from Flinders, further providing better support for the Flinders Medical Centre. We are also increasing the acuity of available support in Noarlunga Hospital by enabling emergency and multiday surgery at the site.

Stage 2 of the Southern Health Expansion Plan is expected to be completed mid-2021, delivering on our promise to increase services and capacity at our hospitals in the south and creating a further 350 jobs. The work that is being done in the health portfolio by my colleague and friend the Minister for Health, Stephen Wade, and his team is $1 billion of investment. It is providing the jobs that we need now, and it is providing the infrastructure, the social infrastructure, that we need in the long term for the people of South Australia.