Question Time

Health Worker Incentives

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (14:13): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Will the government match incentives on offer in other states across Australia to attract and retain health workers and, if not, why not? With your leave, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mrs HURN: In the Victorian state budget handed down just last month, the government invested $201 million in a range of initiatives, including $37 million in sign-on bonuses for new nursing graduates to encourage them to enter the public health system.

The Hon. P.B. Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Premier is called to order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:14): As the Treasurer reminds us, there were some substantial tax increases in the Victorian budget, which perhaps those opposite as advocating as well.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: Certainly, when they were in office they were very keen to see increased land tax revenue—

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Florey!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —and that is part of their future plans.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Badcoe! The Premier is called to order. The minister has the call.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: When we came to office we made it very clear, in terms of our plans to increase—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —the health workforce across South Australia, and that involved—

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Florey! The minister has the call.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Florey is warned. The minister has the call.

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Florey is on two warnings. The minister has the call.

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Morialta!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: That involved 100 extra doctors, 300 extra nurses and 350 extra ambos. The Premier and I were very delighted that we were able in the past couple of weeks to release an update in terms of one year down the track in terms of what our health workforce figures were. We have increased the health workforce in South Australia with not just 100 or 200 but now 550 FTE extra than what was in place when we came to office. We are well on track to meeting those targets, and potentially exceeding some of those targets, particularly when you look at our nurse recruitment so far that we have done already since we came to office.

Of course, we have more to do and we are continuing to invest more. In Thursday's state budget, of course, we are foreshadowing we will have extra investments going into our healthcare system. We have also announced that we are increasing our investment in terms of attraction and retention of staff as well, particularly in terms of attraction to have those payments that can be provided to make sure that we can incentivise people to move to South Australia—either to move here or to move to regional areas across the state where there is demand.

In devising that package, we looked specifically in relation to the payments that were on offer in Victoria and have pegged those in terms of those relocation expenses that we will provide the payment for for people who move to South Australia, and including to the regional areas across the state. We are very confident that that will assist our ability in terms of attracting extra workforce to South Australia. In particular, it is obviously in line with what is in place in Victoria as well.

We have seen the opposition, though, out peddling various figures. They have gone onto Google.com and they have found every single possible payment that could be provided to any possible worker. The shadow minister has stood up with a billboard, which has a scholarship that a nurse could get—and, of course, we offer scholarships as well in South Australia—and a scholarship that a GP could get, and a payment for entrance exams that a GP could get in Victoria. Apparently, this person is doing nursing scholarships and GP scholarships, and moving into particular areas where Victoria have identified demand, such as mental health as well.

The actual fact is we have pegged those incentives in terms of what is in place in Victoria in relation to those relocation expenses. Obviously, since we have come to office we have also put in place a new enterprise bargaining agreement with our nurses across South Australia and also with our paramedics who were denied a pay rise under the previous government for the full four years they were in office: there was no pay rise for our paramedics. So we've got runs on the board in terms of increasing our health workforce and we will continue to do that in the future.