SA Ambulance Service

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (14:20): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Does the minister agree with paramedic Nick Brockhoff and the evidence he gave at a parliamentary committee last week? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mrs HURN: In a parliamentary committee last week, paramedic Nick Brockhoff said, and I quote, 'I would honestly rather be injured in South Africa today, despite their numerous and obvious challenges, than in South Australia.'

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:20): Thank you, sir, and—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call. The question has been asked and the minister has the call.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members to my left and right! The Premier is called to order. The member for Schubert will cease interjecting. She is warned for a second time. The member for Frome knows better. The minister has the call.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: I certainly know Nick well, as I believe you do, sir, from his work in the Adelaide Hills.

The SPEAKER: I do.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: The Premier and I know him from where we first met him—

Mrs Hurn: Yes, the biggest fear campaign in the history of the state.

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert is warned for a third time. The minister has the call.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier is called to order. The member for Flinders is new to parliament but does know better. The minister has the call.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: The Premier and I first met Nick when we were up at the Mount Barker ambulance station when we were announcing that we will build them a new ambulance station up in Mount Barker and we will add two additional ambulances to the Mount Barker region. I think that people who live in your region, sir—and I know that you know this very well—are shocked that there is only one emergency ambulance that is covering the Mount Barker region, which is a very significant region, and people opposite thought that that was okay.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: The member for Heysen, he thought that was okay; he thought that was an acceptable situation. But we listened to the paramedics and we listened to people who lived in the Adelaide Hills who said that this was a fundamentally unsafe proposition to only have one ambulance covering the massively growing Mount Barker region. That's why we have committed, and the Treasurer has put in the budget and we are now recruiting additional paramedics, including in the Adelaide Hills, to address those safety risks that Nick—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —and his fellow paramedics in the Hills have raised in relation to the concerns of Mount Barker. But there's more. Not only do we need the ambulance services available but we also need the hospital services available. Those opposite, including the member for Heysen, thought that it was acceptable that we keep the same number of beds at the Mount Barker hospital that it had 20 years ago.

The Hon. P.B. Malinauskas interjecting:

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: That's right.

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members to my left and right, we turn to the minister.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: That's why we are very proud that in our first budget we have committed to tripling the number of beds at Mount Barker hospital for that growing community to make sure that people in the Adelaide Hills can get their care closer to home and to reduce the pressure on Adelaide health services as well. So not only will we be improving the ambulance services but we will improve the hospital services as well because we actually did the work. We went and listened to the paramedics. We didn't just get some Hansard transcript from the Legislative Council: we actually went out and listened to the paramedics, heard their concerns and now we are delivering to address those key safety risks in the Adelaide Hills.

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert and then the member for Newland, who has been waiting patiently.