New Women's and Children's Hospital Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:36): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to facilitate the development of the new Women's and Children's Hospital and for other purposes. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:37): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This bill will facilitate the development of the new Women's and Children's Hospital, a world-class facility that will provide quality health care to South Australians for decades to come. The current site of the Women's and Children's Hospital has been serving the state as a hospital for over 140 years; however, the age of the building and the constraints of the site necessitates a new facility for the future.

This is a project that has been discussed for the past nine years; however, with not one sod turned yet on a site. The previous government promised to build a hospital to open in 2024; however, that time frame has continued to expand. The reason for the delays under successive governments is that the site that was earmarked, the triangle of land west of the current Royal Adelaide Hospital, is in reality far too small. Too many compromises would need to be made, too many complexities were involved in the construction and not enough forward planning for the future was possible.

One of the major concerns of clinicians was the suboptimal clinical layout that was anticipated, with hot floor services spread across separate floors. The other major concern was future capacity. The previous hospital design west of the Royal Adelaide Hospital would contain just one additional paediatric overnight bed compared with the current hospital.

Upon coming to government in March, the new Labor government was immediately briefed on the status of the project and was concerned to learn that the cost continued to go up, the time lines were continuing to push out and the clinical concerns could not be fully addressed on the site that had been chosen. More importantly, the plans as they stood would not allow for either the Women's and Children's Hospital or the Royal Adelaide Hospital to expand in the future.

Former state coordinator Jim Hallion was appointed to lead an independent expert group that included the Women's and Children's Health Network chair, Mr Jim Birch. The review examined sites across the biomedical precinct for the new hospital. The review concluded that the previous site had many drawbacks and the highest ranking site was the site of the Police Barracks. Importantly, this is not only the highest ranking score overall but also the highest ranking clinical score. Therefore, the government has taken the decision to build the new hospital on this new site, a decision taken to secure the long-term future of the hospital for the next century.

The previous plans for the hospital, as I said, only had one additional overnight paediatric bed and only six additional beds overall. The revised plans on the new site will allow for 56 additional beds in the hospital and a capacity for 20 more. The previous plans allowed no room for either the Women's and Children's Hospital and the Royal Adelaide Hospital to expand, whereas the revised plan will allow for expansion of both hospitals.

The previous plan would have disrupted the Royal Adelaide Hospital during construction, whereas the new plan does not. The previous plan would have had critical care services across separate floors of the hospital, whereas the new plan will allow for hot floor services to be combined. The previous plans would have relied upon the Royal Adelaide Hospital for sterilisation, pathology, catering and helipad services, whereas the new plan will have those services inside the Women's and Children's Hospital.

The previous plans would have had the hospital bounded by roads and railways, whereas the new site will open up into the Parklands, with 30,000 square metres of inaccessible Parklands to be rehabilitated as part of the project, including new playgrounds for families to use.

To be clear, our government could have easily committed to the same site. It would have been politically expedient and these cost, time frame and functionality problems could have been attributed to the previous government. However, we decided that we needed to think for the long term and prioritise health. For decades to come, South Australians would have paid the price for building on the previous site.

A critical element of the project will be the construction of a new four-bed women's intensive care unit at the new hospital. This means that critically ill women can remain in the same hospital as their newborn baby. Dr Laura Willington, the medical head of the Women's Anaesthesia unit at the Women's and Children's Hospital, said about the plans:

It means we will be able to take care of high-risk women in this hospital that we couldn't before because we don't have…intensive care facilities.

This legislation is being introduced to ensure the project can go ahead as expeditiously as possible. The hospital will be constructed on what is detailed in the legislation as the 'project site'. For the project site, the legislation facilitates ownership of the project site, planning consent and development approval and makes a determination with respect to heritage to enable the hospital to be constructed.

In addition to construction of the facility itself, building of the hospital will also require space for staging of equipment during construction, the realignment of Gaol Road, other roadworks and pedestrian and bike paths, augmentation of utility services, such as water, telecommunications, sewerage, stormwater, electricity and gas. The legislation establishes safeguards and limitations on various components of the site and its surroundings. It defines a 'project site' within which the hospital will be constructed, and support zones which may need to be utilised to facilitate construction, but with clear limits about what can occur in those zones.

From a state heritage perspective, all state heritage places within the project site are taken to have been removed from the South Australian Heritage Register. This does not apply to any sites outside of the project site, nor does it amend heritage legislation in any other way. The intention of the support zones is explicitly for developing the facilities and amenities in connection to the project and the purposes are defined in the legislation.

This, for instance, will permit access for vehicles and other construction equipment, the construction, realignment or altering of roads, paths, bridges, temporary buildings necessary to serve construction, structures, installation or relocation of utility services, establishment of a temporary construction staging area and fences or barriers to ensure the safety of members of the public. These are all reasonable, necessary activities to be associated with constructing a facility of this size.

In addition to support zones falling within a defined area and only being specific items listed in the legislation, the bill imposes a positive and ongoing obligation for those utilised areas to be made good once their use is complete. This is an important commitment to remediate any Parklands that are impacted during development. This connects with the government's commitment to expand accessible open space Parklands as part of this development.

From a planning perspective, the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 still applies to the development as modified. A planning application will still have to be made, albeit the development will be taken to be classified by the Planning and Design Code as a deemed-to-satisfy development. Critically, of course, building rules consent and final development approval will still also be required, which ensures the quality, safety and integrity of the facility that is being constructed.

The legislation will also provide powers in relation to the establishment of another section of Parklands for the use of the South Australia Police Mounted Operations Unit, otherwise known as the police horses. South Australia Police is undertaking a project in relation to determining the best approach to moving operations from the barracks site to new site facilities.

While a number of options are being considered in relation to the mounted operations, this bill will allow for a Parklands site to be identified and utilised by the police horses in their operations. This option will facilitate an efficient approach in assisting SAPOL to vacate the site, enabling the construction of the hospital as quickly as possible.

After listening to clinicians and seriously considering the healthcare needs of future generations, building this new hospital under this legislation will deliver the best health outcomes for South Australian women, children and babies into the future. This is a project that will enable better care for children, more expansion capacity for two hospitals, better clinical connection to services and more usable Parkland space connected to the hospital, and this will enable work to occur.

I commend the bill to the parliament and seek leave to insert the explanation of clauses without my reading them.

Leave granted.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

The short title is the New Women's and Children's Hospital Act 2022.

2—Commencement

The measure will commence on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

3—Interpretation

Definitions are included for the purposes of the measure.

4—Effect of Act

The measure has effect despite any other Act or law of the State. It applies to land notwithstanding the provisions of the Real Property Act 1886.

Part 2—The project site

5—Project site

The project site is defined in this clause.

6—Vesting of project site

The Minister is authorised to vest (by plan or plans to be deposited in the GRO) the whole or any part of the project site in the Minister in an estate in fee simple (and the land so vested vests free from all dedications, encumbrances, estates and interests other than those indicated by the Minister in the plan or plans).

Part 3—The support zones

7—Support zones

Support zones and support services and facilities are defined.

Specified powers are conferred on the Minister for the purposes of the provision of support services and facilities in support zones in connection with the development on the project site. Provision is also made in relation to the exercise of those powers.

Part 4—Carrying out the project

8—Development assessment etc

Certain requirements under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 apply to a development proposed to be undertaken on the project site or the support zones. Such development is taken to be classified by the Planning and Design Code as deemed to satisfy development and the State Planning Commission is taken to be the relevant authority for all purposes under that Act.

Except as is specified in the provision or as may be prescribed by the regulations, no assessment, decision, consent, approval, authorisation, certificate, licence, permit or permission, or consultation, notification or other procedural step, is required under a law of the State in connection with any action taken under the measure or the performance of functions under the measure.

9—Roads

The Minister is authorised to open or close any roads in connection with the development on the project site (both temporarily and on an ongoing basis).

Part 5—Miscellaneous

10—Relocation of certain SA Police facilities

The Minister is authorised to vest (by notice in the Gazette) a prescribed area (being an area of land delineated in a plan or plans to be deposited in the GRO) within the Adelaide Park Lands in the Minister responsible for the administration of the Police Act 1998 for the purposes of the SA Police Mounted Operations Unit.

Section 8 of the measure is applied in relation to any development proposed to be undertaken on the prescribed area as if it were development proposed to be undertaken on the project site.

No compensation is payable by the Crown (including the relevant Ministers) in connection with the operation of the section.

11—Minister may make provision in relation to land or structures

The Minister is authorised to make provision (by instrument deposited in the GRO) relating to the status, vesting or management of land or structures or the delineation of land as the Minister thinks fit.

12—Duties of Registrar-General

The Registrar-General may be required to take certain steps for or in connection with action taken under the Act.

13—Other actions etc necessary to give effect to Act

The Minister responsible for the administration of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 is authorised to make certain alterations to instruments under that Act at the request of the Minister responsible for the measure. Provision is also made in relation to the removal of State Heritage Places and Areas within the project site from the South Australian Heritage Register.

14—Certain fees etc. not payable

Fees and charges are not payable to the Adelaide City Council in respect of the exercise of functions under the measure.

15—Regulations

A regulation-making power is provided for.

Schedule 1—Project site and support zones

The Schedule sets out a map of the project site and support zones.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. H.M. Girolamo.