Barossa Hospital

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (14:56): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Will the government release the final plans of a new Barossa hospital and, if so, when? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mrs HURN: The former Liberal government kickstarted the progress of delivering a new Barossa hospital, investing money in the state budget for the very first time. My community and I received an assurance that this progress and momentum would continue and that the money was kept in the budget. We were, however, promised that we would see the final plans by March, but we are yet to see them.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:56): I really appreciate an opportunity to speak about this topic because ever since the member for Schubert has been a candidate she has been running around the Barossa saying that the former Liberal government had committed to building the new Barossa hospital, which was absolutely not true at all—100 per cent false. What the previous government committed to was only to fund a business case for that and also to fund, in many years' time, purchasing the land for that.

As a new incoming government, we are keeping exactly to that in terms of completing the business case, which I understand is close to completion. We also have the money in the forward estimates, as it was under the previous Liberal government, to purchase the land, but there was never a commitment from the Liberal government to building the hospital. There was only a commitment to doing the business case and to purchasing the land.

Some of the misleading statements that have been made to her community in relation to this I think are downright irresponsible because they are not in keeping with the facts of what was put in the budget previously. There has been not one change in terms of the budgeting arrangements, in terms of the business case and also the land purchase, which is not set to happen for some time into the future still. The work in relation to the business case is continuing, and when that money is eventually there, as it was put in place by the previous government, then that will happen in relation to the land purchase.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!