KordaMentha Report

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:51): Further supplementary: given the desire to free up approximately 65,000 occupied bed dates per annum, has the minister been given any advice about the number of beds at CALHN that this would equate to under the KordaMentha plan?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:52): The fact of the matter is that the plan does not have bed targets. The plan is all about driving efficiencies. This plan doesn't involve cuts. After all, the honourable Treasurer invested eight—

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Leader of the Opposition, he is actually answering your question.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: Not very well.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter, I don't need advice. Allow the minister to answer your own question—your own question. I can't even hear the minister.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I think the opposition needs to understand the difference between budgets and financial statements. The budget for the Central Adelaide Local Health Network in the last year of their government was overspent by more than $260 million, and coming into this current financial year—the year that we are in now—the Central Adelaide Local Health Network is facing a budget overspend of $300 million. That is about how they are delivering on their budget.

The Central Adelaide Local Health Network, and all health networks, benefited from the reinvestment in health by the Marshall Liberal government in the last budget. In the last budget, the Marshall Liberal government invested $800 million more in health than the former Labor government budgeted. We want that money to be invested in services, not waste. It is important that hospitals operate efficiently. They need to live within their budgets.

If the Labor Party wants to suggest that they are going to put down budgets and let everybody ignore them, as they did for the last 16 years, we will continue to go into the hole that we have in the Central Adelaide Local Health Network and across the health network that I have inherited. We are determined to eliminate the budget overspend through addressing inefficiencies. Basically, households have to live within their budgets; so do hospitals.

Let's remember what the former Labor government did. The former Labor government, faced with a budget conundrum—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I cannot hear the minister. Minister.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The former Labor government, faced with a budget dilemma like I have, implemented Transforming Health. What was Transforming Health's response? It was to close three hospitals; it was to downgrade three more. What we now know is that in 2002 they were given an SA Health report that highlighted the budget disaster that was the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN). So going into 2014, faced with a prospect of driving efficiencies in a very inefficient health network, CALHN, or closing three hospitals and downgrading three more, guess what they chose? They chose to let the inefficiencies flow. Let's not try to get health bureaucrats and health management and clinicians to work within a budget; we will let them spend with gay abandon.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: We are actively undoing the damage of Transforming Health. We are actively undoing the damage, unlike the former Labor government which thought a good budget strategy was closing three hospitals. We are actually reinvesting in health with an $800 million investment and we are opening more services. Rather than closing hospitals, we are opening services. We have multiday surgery at Modbury. We have 24/7 cardiac at TQEH. We have put 20 beds in at the Repat and we have committed to renew that precinct.

I am very proud of the fact that this government is going to continue in a workmanlike way to make sure that our health services are efficient and effective and to make sure that they are available when South Australians need them.