Pathology Services

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:20): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing regarding pathology.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: On 30 March, 20 April and 27 April, the CEO of Clinpath wrote to the Premier, along with minister Stephen Wade and Rob Lucas. Liberal Party fundraising director Maurice Henderson was also sent this correspondence. The offer was to use Clinpath Laboratories as a backup to SA Pathology COVID-19 testing. A similar arrangement is in place in other states. Clinpath has had no correspondence in reply to repeated written offers, even though it is reported that the minister promised a response.

The federal government last month funded Sonic Healthcare, the owner of Clinpath, to provide rapid COVID-19 testing in aged care. This week, the minister announced that SA Pathology had assembled a team for rapid aged-care testing, and the CEO of Clinpath yesterday referred to this duplication as, 'Exactly the same thing' and 'seems to me to be a waste of Government funds' and 'They could be using that money for something else' and 'They're both Liberal governments, surely they talk to each other? It's beyond me.'

My questions to the minister are: why have the Premier or ministers not replied to repeated correspondence from the CEO of Clinpath regarding offers to assist with COVID-19 testing? Why is the government expending resources in aged-care testing for COVID-19 when the commonwealth has funded an identical service?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:22): Isn't this absolutely amazing? Here we have a Labor Party which is advocating for privatisation of pathology services. What a hypocritical bunch this is. You have been lecturing us about even trying to ask for better value for money for pathology services, and as soon as we announced that we are not looking for alternative service providers, you come in here advocating for privatisation of pathology services. You hypocrites. What was the second question? I got so excited about the first that I had trouble with the second. If the honourable member wouldn't mind repeating her question, I will offer her an answer.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The honourable Deputy Leader of the Opposition, could you repeat the second part of your question?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: It's both the first part of the question and the second part of the question that the minister has not answered, so, with your indulgence, I will—

The PRESIDENT: If you want to, or I will move on.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Why have the minister or the Premier not replied to repeated correspondence from the CEO of Clinpath regarding their offer, and why is the government spending money on aged-care testing when the commonwealth has funded that service?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Minister for Health and Wellbeing, and we will listen in silence. Minister for Health and Wellbeing.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: So why did I fail to respond to correspondence in March or April? Surprise, surprise, surprise: there was a pandemic on. We had a department that was completely fixed on responding to the global pandemic, and the opposition wants to come in here and say, 'I'm sorry, you have delayed correspondence to a corporate leader.' Well, how about talking about the significant disruption to health services for ordinary South Australians?

They preach against privatisation of SA Pathology services, now they come in advocating for it. Instead of standing up for the worker and the ordinary constituents who are looking for health services, they want to demand correspondence going back to corporate leaders in Adelaide. Now tell me about duplication of services. Are you honestly telling me that you think that whenever a private company provides a service in the South Australian market that rules out a public sector provider being in that market?

What a bizarre approach! We have a Labor Party that wants to advocate for privatisation of public services, but now they want the pathology services to be able to stake a claim like it is the Wild West and claim a monopoly over a field because they got there first. This is a galling, incompetent opposition. They can't even follow the logic of their own philosophies.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Do you have a supplementary question, deputy leader?