Public Health Services, Private Providers

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (15:08): Supplementary: can the minister guarantee that no other public health services will be outsourced to private health providers?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:08): The hypocrisy of Labor is amazing. We have a member of the Labor opposition asking me whether this government is open to engaging the private sector in service provision. I have already mentioned what the former Labor government did in relation to engaging private hospital services, but let's look at some of the other privatisations under Labor. Under Labor, we had radiology services at Modbury Hospital and Noarlunga Hospital delivered through external providers. There are 14 country hospitals where radiology services were delivered during Labor's term through external providers.

What about hospital services? There are five metropolitan hospitals—FMC, Modbury, Lyell McEwin, TQEH and the Women's and Children's—that receive a significant proportion of their hospital services through the private sector. In relation to the transport of patients, SALHN, NALHN, Country Health and SAS all use private providers to transport patients. Then, of course, under the former Labor government, we had the largest privatisation deal in the state's history with the NRAH deal. This has 29 years to run. I feel almost humbled by my four-year contract framework for private hospitals. Labor decided that they would have a 29-year deal—

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Point of order, Mr President: the question was about what the minister is doing. He is talking about what Labor was doing, and I for one am keen to hear from the crossbenchers.

The PRESIDENT: There were two points there: one was time, and the minister is still answering the question, so I am not accepting that; and the minister, as you know, has some latitude to answer, and I assume he is getting to the point. I hope he is getting to the point.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Like the former government, we will continue to engage private providers.