Limestone Coast

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (15:16): Every year the state budget announcement heralds the government's focus on our state—and in particular the Limestone Coast. This year two key priorities for budget allocation are very clear: housing and health. Our city's health needs include additional mental health services, end-of-life care, and addressing the city's pressing skilled healthcare professionals shortage.

Earlier this year I spoke out in state parliament about the need to support and grow our regional nursing workforce, which was broadly supported by both sides in this chamber. Subsidies to support regional students through metropolitan placements would be a great start to growing the state's healthcare workforce in line with our needs. Just on that point, I received an email from a nursing student I will call M. This is what she wrote to me on 29 May:

I'm writing to you as I am [a] very frustrated, upset, stressed and overwhelmed Mount Gambier UniSA second year nursing student, and have just received my placement, which is at the Royal Adelaide Hospital from 24/06/2023 to 20/07/2023. This has given me three weeks' notice, which is absolutely appalling on UniSA's behalf.

For UniSA to expect me to find accommodation and save money for a metro placement in three weeks is unrealistic. I have been emailing CPU (who allocates our placements) and the course coordinator for weeks before now and [even] calling CPU to find out my placement allocation but I was not even given the respect for my emails to be acknowledged.

I've looked at accommodation tonight which is over $4,000 for that period of time and I won't be getting paid as I won't be able to work. I personally cannot afford that and with only three weeks' notice it is now too late to apply for Centrelink or to be granted scholarships/grants. I may even have to drop out of my course due to the un-organisational effort UniSA have shown to me in this situation.

I look forward to hearing back from you, and hopefully having a resolution to this matter…I would be happy to meet up to discuss…further.

So, again, what I have raised in here is being brought to life in very real terms as we speak.

In Home Hospice Care run a very special, holistic, end-of-life service, and they are in the position of needing ongoing funding to continue their work. After receiving $150,000 from the state Liberal government in 2020, their funds are running out.

I cannot mention health without mentioning the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme. My electorate is one of the biggest utilisers of this scheme. I have spoken previously about this. At $40 a night, it is very difficult for people seeking accommodation in Adelaide. Even a small rise in the accommodation subsidy would make a huge difference to the many Mount Gambier people who have to travel outside the region to receive specialist health care.

A particular focus of mine over the last few years has been medical cannabis and the tremendous opportunities this industry could provide for our region while producing quality healthcare products for South Australians who need them. It is my belief that regional South Australia, including the city of Mount Gambier, has a big role to play in the production and manufacturing space, and I will be speaking about this later this year.

In August 2021, I wrote in the Future Mount Gambier document that housing would be one of our greatest challenges in coming years and this statement, sadly, is revealing itself as a fact. It is clear we need more affordable public, community and professional housing options in Mount Gambier and across the state. When we have teachers and nurses living in caravan parks, the situation is pretty dire. When we have people living on the streets of Mount Gambier because they cannot find a secure, stable house, it is a crushing situation.

Housing underpins everything. A housing boom has seen real estate skyrocket, pushing homes out of reach for first-home buyers and making rental properties unaffordable. Service agencies are reporting the lack of affordable housing as their number one issue, forcing many into homelessness or insecure situations, resulting in increased demand for crisis and emergency housing and this is affecting those who are on an income. Additional housing options would allow our city to retain those all-important skilled workers, as well as alleviating pressure on the public housing waitlist and the private rental market.