Yorke Peninsula Health Advisory Council

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (14:23): I have a question for the Minister for Health. Will the minister update the house on whether health advisory councils have a role to play in the future? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr ELLIS: The Yorke Peninsula HAC is down to three members and has been steadily losing quite a significant amount of corporate knowledge with recent resignations and there are genuine fears about its ability to attract new members. Will the government enter into a campaign to recruit members for the health advisory council?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:23): Thank you very much to the member for Narungga. I thank him for this important question. I did have the opportunity when we were at country cabinet in the member for Narungga's electorate to meet with the local health advisory council covering the southern portion of the Yorke Peninsula. As the member said, it has seen a reduction in the number of people who are on that health advisory council—

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hartley is warned a second time.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: Ask a question.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: I think that this is an important question and the member for Narungga and his constituents deserve an answer. We have seen a number of very longstanding members of that health advisory council decide to step away after very long periods of time. The member for Narungga has raised with me whether we can work together to promote being part of that health advisory council, and I am very happy to commit that we will do that. I have really spoken to the Yorke and Northern Local Health Network to do that because I do think that health advisory councils are important. They are an important part of the legislation; they are an important part of making sure that local communities are represented in the health system.

We did see various discussions at points of time over the past five years as to whether they might be abolished or not. There had been discussions that bringing in the local health network boards would not mean that we need health advisory councils at all. I have been consistent that I think that we still need those health advisory councils. They still have a very important role to play, and I look forward to working with the member for Narungga and the local health network to promote people being part of that health advisory council.

The other element, which I think is important to this, is that we enable the health advisory councils to meet, to share their learnings, to share their experiences and ultimately improve their advocacy on behalf of their local communities. For a number of years, there used to be a health advisory council meeting that would happen once a year where all the advisory councils would be able to come together and share their experience. That was put on hold, I believe, for a couple of years.

It has now restarted in the past couple of years, which is excellent because we need the ability for that network of health advisory councils to meet and ultimately for them all to grow and strengthen their ability to advocate to state government. I thank the member for his question and look forward to working with him to promote his local health advisory councils and those councils right across the state.