Question Time

Ambulance Ramping

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (15:03): My question is to the Premier. Premier, when will you fix ramping? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: According to the latest SA Health data released on Saturday, ramping has nearly doubled since the former government’s last full month in office. South Australians have now endured the worst nine months of ramping in our state’s history.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (15:04): Thank you, Mr Speaker—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —and I would like to thank the Leader of the Opposition for his important question because, of course, the situation within our public hospital system is something which is incredibly important to this government, and that is why we have got a substantial program of works underway to undo the untold damage that was done over the course of the former government.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: The statistics released on Saturday by the health minister regarding ramping numbers did show that we have come back down quite substantially in recent months; we are now back down towards levels we saw in April of last year. We hope that is a trend that continues, but this will be a difficult exercise. What it takes is a lot more effort and a lot more resources to go into the system.

The Leader of the Opposition asked his question with a particular bent, and that is for him to account for. What I will say is that I invite the opposition to contemplate the counter facts here of what the world would look like had they been re-elected in March last year. What that would mean is that we would have—

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Schubert is warned.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: There were literally hundreds of beds fewer in the system than there is today, there would be fewer nurses working than what there are today, there would be fewer doctors employed in our public hospitals than there are today, and a lot fewer ambos. There would undoubtedly be ongoing and protracted industrial disputation.

I note the member for Schubert's reference to appreciation for ambulance workers in the earlier exercise in the parliament, notwithstanding the fact that they did not award pay rises to ambulance officers—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —for years.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: Order! Premier, there is a point of order from—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for West Torrens, cease the exchange with the member for Schubert. Member for Morialta.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Thank you, sir. Standing order 98 prevents the Premier from debating.

The SPEAKER: It certainly does. I will listen carefully, and I bring the Premier back to the substance of the question.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: What we have been doing since the election last year is putting in all those additional resources, acknowledging the contribution of health workers, whether it be nurses or ambos—

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert is warned for a third time.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: What we are now starting to see is a downward trajectory in some of those numbers. We have a long, long way to go—

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is warned.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —before we realise our ambition, but it beggars belief that the opposition would see this as a criticism worth making, given, of course, that in their years of government during the course of COVID, where they had a total unfettered licence to invest more resources into our hospitals—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —what did they actively choose to do? They chose to bring in the corporate liquidators.

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hartley!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta on a point of order; I anticipate 'debate'.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: For sure, sir.

The SPEAKER: That being the case, I do observe that there were a substantial number of interjections and, of course, that does encourage debate. Nevertheless, the standing order is as printed. I will listen carefully. I give the Premier some latitude because he is the Premier.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: Given that the public health system in this state had a substantial amount of cuts imposed on it during the course of a public health emergency, this government was elected and started to see flu and COVID in the state for the first time in our history. Notwithstanding that, we then put in place the resources required to turn the system around.

What we have seen in recent months, including the most recent statistics, is a substantial reduction in the number of hours lost as a result of ramping in a way that points to a positive trajectory. More recently, we have started to see ambulance response times improve, including on the same time—

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Schubert!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —12 months ago, when those opposite were in charge of the system. We are absolutely dedicated and focused on rolling out those additional resources across the course of the three years. In response to the Leader of the Opposition's question, we always knew and always publicly stated that it would take time for the benefits of those additional resources to realise themselves; but I am very, very glad to see the numbers moving in the appropriate direction.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer is called to order. Before I call the member for Schubert, I remind her that she is now on three warnings; the member for Chaffey is warned; the member for Hammond is warned; and the member for Morphett is warned. The member for Schubert is experienced now after one year in parliament; we won't be exceeding three warnings.