Meningococcal B Strain Vaccination

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:31): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Health about meningococcal B.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: The minister has said on ABC Radio that a meningococcal B vaccination program will be in place ahead of mid-2019. If that is the case, on what date will South Australian families be able to access this vaccine?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:31): Before 1 July 2019, because what I was highlighting in that public statement was the duplicity of the Labor Party. The Labor Party chose to have a petition on meningococcal B in late 2016 and yet today the shadow minister for health and wellbeing says, 'Bring it in tomorrow, bring it in tomorrow. We were going to do it tomorrow.' Then, on 4 March, before the election, the current Leader of the Opposition, at that stage the minister for health, told a press conference that they would introduce it on 1 July 2019.

Yet, what did we have this morning? The shadow minister for health and wellbeing said, 'Bring it in tomorrow, bring it in tomorrow.' The Labor Party is more interested in playing political games than in improving health outcomes. If they believed we needed a meningococcal B vaccination program in South Australia, then why were we, at the time of the election, the only state in Australia not to have a state-funded meningococcal vaccination program?

Thankfully, the PBAC has recommended the introduction of an ACWY vaccination program, which will start on 1 July 2018. I have an expert working group working on a—

The Hon. C.M. Scriven: Tomorrow? Excellent.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Sorry?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Let the minister answer his question in silence.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Minister, continue with your answer.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Please, can we cease the conversations across the aisles and show courtesy to the minister on his feet.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I feel a bit like the déjà vu experience that Rob Lucas had yesterday, where the member just doesn't seem to listen. My comments about 1 July 2018 were, as I said, in relation to the commonwealth program in relation to ACWY, not B. Get your serotypes right.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: They wouldn't know what it was.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Get your serotypes right, that's all I can say.

An honourable member: How do you spell it?

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: Spell it for them.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Serotypes? S-e-r-o-t-y-p-e.

The PRESIDENT: Cease spelling like children and allow the minister to answer an important question.

An honourable member: He was the one spelling.

The PRESIDENT: You can ask that again, Hon. Mr Hunter, if you so choose.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Thank you, Mr President. I feel rebuked. I shall no longer spell.

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Leader of the Opposition, when I say 'Order!', obey me. I'm interested in the minister's answer; let him speak.

An honourable member interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Mr Hanson, it's an important question and an important answer. Let the minister speak.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I think you are right, Mr President, the attitude of the opposition to questions suggests that they don't take the issues as seriously as they might feign. As I said, we went into the last election with South Australia being the only state that didn't have a state-funded meningococcal vaccination program. The commonwealth is introducing the ACWY from 1 July 2018. The expert working group is undertaking its work and I'm advised that it is likely that I will get a report from that group in the next week or two, which is well ahead of the two to three-month time frame that we expected a report would come. Then, it will need to be considered by government, because there will no doubt be options and costs. However, let's be clear: the South Australian Marshall Liberal government is committed to a meningococcal B vaccination program for South Australia.