KordaMentha

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:29): Further supplementary: in relation to the answer to the question about access to patient files, will Mr Mentha and Mr Martin, in their roles as public sector employees, be solely public sector employees or will they also be performing KordaMentha work at the same time, hence KordaMentha may actually have access to patient files?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:30): The honourable leader looks like a young teenager trying to turn a tennis ball inside out. They will have a range of roles. The public sector roles, particularly those which facilitate the financial enhancement of the Royal Adelaide Hospital and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, are a key imperative.

Here we have a central health network, central hospitals, which, in the last year of the Labor government, were running a financial budget overspend of almost $300 million. We now know from the report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare that the Royal Adelaide Hospital is not only the worst emergency department in the country in terms of turnaround time but also is the worst performing in terms of elective surgery. Yet, the Leader of the Opposition seems to think that the most important thing to do is draft a position description for a public servant.