House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Nurses and Midwives Nurses and Midwives Mrs HURN House of Assembly Schubert Nurses and Midwives Mrs HURN (Schubert) (14:39): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. How does the minister respond to the comments of Elizabeth Dabars, who is the CEO of the ANMF, regarding retention of nurses and midwives? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain. Leave granted. Mrs HURN House of Assembly Schubert Mrs HURN: Ms Dabars told Channel 10 this week that experienced nurses and midwives have left the system and are now working at the Adelaide Airport or looking for jobs at Bunnings. The Hon. C.J. PICTON House of Assembly Kaurna Minister for Health and Wellbeing The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:39): I would refer the shadow minister to the fact that this government has recruited, above attrition, 1,400 extra nurses. I would also refer the shadow minister to the fact that, when the shadow minister was sitting in the State Administration Centre advising Steven Marshall on his really successful political strategy, they had a program of cutting nurses, of making 228 nurses redundant during the course of the global pandemic. That is a policy that we opposed. I ask the shadow minister to rule that out for the future and I ask the shadow minister to say that the previous approach of the Liberal government in doing so was wrong and to apologise for it because that has meant that we were— Members interjecting: The Hon. C.J. PICTON House of Assembly Kaurna Minister for Health and Wellbeing The Hon. C.J. PICTON: You've apologised, have you? I look forward to the apology being issued by the shadow minister for her role in the Marshall government of cutting nurses. I look forward to her apologising for that because she should do that because that was a detrimental decision for the future of our state.