House of Assembly Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2) 54 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Question Time Raethel, Ms H. Raethel, Ms H. Mr PICTON House of Assembly Kaurna Raethel, Ms H. Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (14:40): My question is to the Premier. Will the government refer to the Coroner the death of Ms Hazel Raethel regarding her missed cancer diagnosis at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 2019? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain. Leave granted. Mr PICTON House of Assembly Mr PICTON: Hazel Raethel passed away in April last year, age 66, after a three-month delay in 2019 to inform her of a positive bowel cancer diagnosis of a colonoscopy that was performed at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Hazel's daughter Ruth has told the ABC, and I quote, 'I'm disappointed in a system that's supposed to be there to help us and has failed miserably.' The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN House of Assembly Bragg Deputy Premier Attorney-General Minister for Planning and Local Government The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning and Local Government) (14:41): I thank the member for the question. As he may be aware, the question of the actions of the Coroner is determined by the Coroners Act. There is power for referral, but it's ultimately the decision of the Coroner to determine whether there is a case for which there be an inquest or other inquiry, unless of course Mrs Raethel was within the reportable death obligation of which there are certain subsections that mandate that there be an inquest. I don't know sufficient particulars from what you have indicated. Any member is able to request on behalf of their constituency any consideration by the Coroner, and I know frequently many of you do because sometimes you then come to me to try to hasten getting an answer in relation to that. Certainly, if there are matters which any member is concerned about, particularly if it's not in an area in which there is obviously a legal obligation already for the Coroner to undertake an inquest or a mandatory inquiry, then I would urge them to do so.