Ambulance Ramping

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:08): My question is to the Premier. When is your government going to stop treating the ambulance ramping crisis as an industrial dispute and start treating this as the serious public health risk that it is, including your acknowledging the problem, accepting the problem and doing something about it?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:08): I can tell you I do acknowledge the problem, and I also acknowledge who caused the problem—and they are the people who are sitting opposite.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I'm not going to be lectured by the Leader of the Opposition—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —who was the health minister in South Australia—the minister who closed the Repat. They over there, with Transforming Health, downgraded hospitals right across South Australia. They downgraded Modbury Hospital, they downgraded The Queen Elizabeth Hospital—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Playford!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —they downgraded Noarlunga Hospital, and of course they closed the Repat Hospital, yet now they say, 'This wasn't our problem. This was somebody else's problem.' Well, let me tell you what we have been doing.

Since we came into government, we have been unwinding the Transforming Health mess that we inherited from those opposite. I tell you, one of the biggest problems in terms of medical crises in South Australia at the moment is amnesia. They have completely forgotten what happened under their government. They comprehensively blew up the health system in South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: By contrast, since we have been in government we have put more than $2.2 billion worth of new money into the health system, and we are currently embarking on more than a billion dollars worth of upgrades to the hospitals in South Australia. I can tell you now that not all the work is done. There is a lot more work to be done. It is going to take some time to unwind the mess that we inherited from those opposite. We agree and we acknowledge that there is work to be done.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We have committed money. We have committed resources. We are fixing up the mess that we inherited. Can I say that I am very proud of some of the work that is currently happening in our hospitals in South Australia. In fact, we are significantly upgrading the emergency department capacity at the Lyell McEwin Hospital, and I visited that recently.

We are now upgrading the Flinders Medical Centre emergency department. This will be the largest emergency department in South Australia. Of course, it needed to happen a long time ago, but those opposite, instead of expanding the capacity within our emergency departments, what did they do? Downgraded and closed! Yet they have the temerity to come in here and ask us what we are doing about fixing their mess.

Let me tell you what we are doing. We are working every single day. You were the health minister. Take responsibility for the mess. I have not heard one of them talk about Transforming Health. Has anybody heard them talk about Transforming Health? A few years ago, they were walking around holding the brochure proudly. We've got to dig out those photographs and remind people of the mess that you created—you, sir. You were the Minister for Health.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: He doesn't put that on his CV.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier will—

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: He doesn't put that on the CV—that he flogged off the Repat.

The SPEAKER: The Premier will address his remarks through the Chair.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We had to reverse that.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier will address his remarks through the Chair. The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Thank you for reminding me that we need to summarise in the next minute the work that has been done over the last three years. I've got to say, SA Health should be acknowledged for the great work they have been doing keeping the people of South Australia safe during an extraordinarily difficult year for South Australia, Australia and the globe. But even in the midst of doing all that fantastic work they have been working tirelessly to undo the mess we inherited from those opposite.

The issues to do with ramping will not be solved with a silver bullet. There are a number of projects which are working at the moment in terms of increasing patient flow—diversion, increasing ambulance resources and, of course, expanding the overall emergency department capacity and capability in South Australia. It is a comprehensive plan. We've got a comprehensive plan. We're not just throwing grenades. We've got a comprehensive plan to unwind the mess that those opposite created.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Before I call the leader, I call to order and warn the member for Chaffey. I call to order the member for Colton, I call to order the member for Elder and I call to order the member for Hurtle Vale. I call to order the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services and I warn the member for Playford.

I indicate to all honourable members that I have just observed what might reasonably be described as an unusual degree of uproar in the house, and I just indicate a general warning with respect to that. I will give the call to the leader in a moment, and the leader will be entitled to be heard in silence and, to whichever minister he might direct his question, that minister will be entitled to be heard in silence. The leader is seeking the call.