Bills

Health Care (Governance) Amendment Bill

Final Stages

Consideration in committee of message No. 120 from the House of Assembly.

(Continued from 27 May 2021.)

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I move:

That the House of Assembly's amendment be agreed to.

The government's bill contains a last resort dispute resolution provision to the effect that if the Department for Health and Wellbeing and a local health network cannot agree on a term or variation to the service agreement, the minister may make a decision about the term or variation and must advise both parties in writing. The amendment, which passed in the other place and which we are considering today, was moved by the member for Waite and was also supported by the government in that place.

The amendment inserts a new requirement, through a new section 28C(5) of the Health Care Act 2008, that where the minister makes a decision about a term or variation of a service agreement, he must advise the parties in writing and he must also cause a copy of the ministerial decision to be tabled in each house of parliament within seven sitting days after the service agreement to which the decision relates is entered into or varied.

Whilst I do not intend to exercise ministerial intervention in the service agreement negotiations between the department and the local health networks as a matter of course, the government supports the principle of public transparency and is therefore fully supportive of the amendment we are considering today.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I will be extremely brief and say that we will be supporting the changes that have occurred and the amendment from the other place. It would be remiss not to note that this has taken many months. Off the top of my head, this has been bubbling around and going on for probably close to 12 months. I do not think it brings much glory to the government that it has been allowed to go on for this long.

Motion carried.