JAMES NASH HOUSE

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK (14:43): I have a supplementary question. What inducements will the government give to mental health nurses and psychiatrists to make the daily journey to Murray Bridge?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health) (14:43): We will look at a range of issues with staff. We have already said that we will enter into discussions and negotiations with staff to understand their needs. We need to understand how many wish to relocate out there.

The Hon. Sandra Kanck: Not many!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: That may be. Some might want to relocate to other parts of the service, and we will assist them to do that. We will then obviously advertise to fill any vacant positions. In fact, there will be a lot of attraction to a new state-of-the-art facility like that, so we believe that we will be able to attract staff from interstate and possibly even overseas, because this will be a new state-of-the-art facility—something that we can all be proud of and something that, no doubt, will attract a great deal of interest from interstate and overseas. Obviously, we will give priority to those people who are currently employed in the service and we will do what we can to assist them to relocate and also to understand their transport—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Thank you for your protection, Mr President. As I was saying, we will discuss their transportation requirements. We have said that we will negotiate with the transport department and look at the public transport service needs to that region. Mount Barker is one of the most rapidly growing residential areas in South Australia and it offers a great deal of potential as well. That is not to say that there will not be challenges involved and changes. It will mean change, but we are very willing to sit down and work with people to accommodate their needs wherever we possibly can.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: I remind members that we have lost 27 minutes.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Ridgway has led the charge this afternoon.