Question Time

Women's and Children's Hospital

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:20): My question is the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Is the government fully committed to building a new Women's and Children's Hospital? If so, when will construction commence, and will the hospital be a public private partnership or government built and operated?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:21): The government certainly is committed to building a new Women's and Children's Hospital and the reason is because we got elected to deliver it. One of the key distinctions between the Marshall Liberal opposition and the former Labor government—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I can't hear the minister.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —is that we—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Allow the minister to answer the question.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I thank the President for bringing the house to order. The Marshall Liberal team, coming into government, came in with a mandate and a commitment to deliver the Women's and Children's Hospital as an integrated unit. The former Labor government was willing to leave the children's hospital at the North Adelaide site basically stranding paediatric services for an unknown period. We are committed to a new Women's and Children's Hospital and, in terms of the first down payment of that commitment, there is a commitment of $550 million in the 2019 state budget.