Question Time

South Australian Salaried Medical Officers Association

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (14:50): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier meet with SASMOA regarding its enterprise bargaining agreement and, if not, why not? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: SASMOA wrote to the Premier on 22 April 2025 regarding negotiations for a new salaried medical officers enterprise agreement. In SASMOA's bulletin to members on 28 April, it said in relation to the negotiations:

This unfortunately confirms an ongoing lack of respect for and valuing of the role of medical officers in the South Australian public health system and raises questions about whether or not the State Government is engaging in good faith bargaining.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:50): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question regarding a piece of correspondence that is very fresh indeed. Of course, I and my cabinet colleagues regularly meet with industrial organisations. You would expect nothing less of a Labor government. Of course, we can't always agree, because our responsibility isn't exclusively of an industrial nature, but we always take very seriously the role that any trade union plays in advocating for their members and their members' interests, and we meet with them on a frequent basis.

I will meet with SASMOA if and when it is appropriate to do so. Of course, when it comes to enterprise bargaining, there is a process. There is a well-established process for how those negotiations are conducted. I have every confidence that the Minister for Industrial Relations, the Hon. Kyam Maher, is making sure that the government adopts a position of good faith negotiations. That does not mean that there is automatic agreement; clearly not.

In terms of the work that SASMOA members undertake, of course this government values them, which is why we are investing in more of them—300 more of them. SASMOA's membership has gone berserk as a result of this government's policies because we are actively recruiting more doctors into our public hospital system than ever before. There hasn't been a recruitment boost quite like this one, so of course we value the work.

We are also very proud of the fact as a government—and I will look to my minister to correct me if I have this wrong, but I understand that SASMOA members in South Australia are some of the highest paid medical professionals in not just the state but indeed the country, which is a credit to SASMOA. That also speaks to the value that we have. The conditions contained within the salaried medical officers agreement we think reflect how much we appreciate the work our doctors do.

They have very unique conditions, rights and privileges that are not bestowed on any other workers in the state. No-fixed-hours clauses are unique, for instance; very high salaries; rights of private practice. These are conditions that are unique to salaried medical officers in South Australia. I have met with SASMOA on a number of occasions throughout my time in government, including prior to this government as a minister for health. I was able to have good negotiations with them but also more recently, and I am also familiar with—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: I can say something with a high degree of confidence in response to those interjections. Under the former Liberal government, SASMOA I think were given genuine real wage decreases. You cut the wages of our doctors. Your agreement cut the wages. Your agreement cut the wages of doctors.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Colton can leave the chamber until the end of question time.

The honourable member for Colton having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: The former government gave real wage decreases to our men and women in public hospitals, which I think is an appalling reflection on what you think of our serving doctors: the fact that you actively cut their wages in real terms. What we will do—

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

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta can leave until the end of question time.

The honourable member for Morialta having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —is sit down and negotiate with them in good faith as is appropriate and as those men and women deserve.