Repat Health Precinct

Mrs POWER (Elder) (15:46): We have reached another historic milestone in the reactivation of the Repat with the Marshall Liberal government announcing the return of surgical services to the site.

As a Liberal team, both in opposition and now in government, we listened to our community. We made a promise that if elected we would stop the sale of the Repat and reactivate it into a thriving healthcare precinct, and that is exactly what we did and what we are continuing to do.

The return of surgery to the Repat is big news for my local community, and in fact big news for all South Australians. It was really special to be able to host my 10^th Repat forum. At the time I thought it was my eighth or ninth. I have had so many of them I have lost count, but when I looked back it was my 10^th Repat forum and held this time at the SPF Hall on site. It was incredibly special to be able to share this exciting news with my local residents; and, of course, as always, provide them with the opportunity to ask questions of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing and others I had on the panel.

It was yet another incredible Repat forum with approximately 100 people attending, and I thank every one of those who made it to this recent forum or any one of my Repat forums. Most importantly, I thank everyone, every South Australian, who joined the fight against Labor's sale of the Repat. Together, we won that fight when the Marshall Liberal government was elected in 2018, and together we have continued to work to breathe life back into the Repat.

Whilst there is already much occurring at the site, I think that since we took office in 2018 I know that Minister Wade quickly tore up the contract of sale and got on with the job of working with the community to build the master plan and to do so much at the site. The recent news of the return of surgery is just incredible news. Many people know that previously there were four operating theatres at the Repat. The team of staff there were just incredible and were often recognised as providing a gold standard of service.

The recent plans that have been revealed for the return of surgical procedures for the Repat show that we will build up to six operating theatres, which is absolutely incredible news. The operating theatres will be supported by a 30-bed overnight capacity, a GP clinic, a community pharmacy and other specialist, medical and allied health services. This means that public patients will be able to access surgical procedures once again at the Repat. Planned services for public patients will include ophthalmology, orthopaedics, general surgery, urology and colonoscopy procedures.

The Marshall Liberal government will invest more than $413 million over 10 years for Nexus to deliver services from this new purpose-built facility. We expect that this will significantly help reduce waiting lists right across our health system and ensure that we can meet demand for health care now and into the future. We know that the demand for renal dialysis is increasing significantly. With this in mind, we have also ensured that this new facility will include a 20-chair renal dialysis unit, which will be a really important service for those in my local community, the southern suburbs and more.

Demolition works have already started on site and are expected to be completed by April next year. Construction of the new facility is then expected to start in the second half of 2022. I am so proud to be a part of a government that promised to save the Repat and reactivate it into a thriving healthcare precinct and to be delivering on that promise. We truly are building what matters: creating local jobs and better lives for people right across the state. In the inner south, in my local electorate, we are significantly improving our health system.

Whilst I stand in this house, I stand here just one of the many individuals of an incredible group of people who together fundamentally change the fate and the future of the Repat. In doing so, we have improved health care in our community and our state.