Wade, The Hon. S.G.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (16:04): I move:

That this council—

1. Notes the recent retirement of the Hon. Stephen Wade MLC after 16 years of service to the people and Parliament of South Australia;

2. Recognises his leadership as Minister for Health and Wellbeing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic; and

3. Wishes him well in his retirement from parliament and the years ahead.

I rise to acknowledge and celebrate the tremendous contribution that the Hon. Stephen Wade made to this chamber as well as to the people of South Australia. Prior to entering parliament, Stephen studied law and economics at Adelaide University. He then worked as a parliamentary adviser at a state and federal level and worked in corporate governance, serving on a number of boards, including as chair of Julia Farr Services Inc., and was a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

The Hon. Stephen Wade entered the Legislative Council in May 2006 through a casual vacancy caused by the resignation of then member Angus Redford. Stephen quickly entered the shadow ministry in 2007 and held a range of shadow portfolios for the next decade until the election of the Marshall Liberal government in 2018, which saw him sworn in as Minister for Health and Wellbeing.

As Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Stephen quickly earned a reputation for his humility, approachability and incredible work ethic. He was also well known for his 4.30am starts. Less known are his seven briefcases of files and cabinet papers that he would take home each Friday or the three to four cases that accompanied him daily. According to close sources, he read every word.

Departmental officials were astounded when questions would come back on their briefs, letters would be marked up or he would phone a contact officer with a question. This was not an approach officers were used to, with former ministers often only interacting with very senior officials. I am reliably informed that several contact officers would have to pick their jaws up from the ground when they realised it was indeed the minister on the phone.

This diligence and attention to detail quickly earned him a great deal of respect throughout the health system. Some of Stephen's staff recall a Friday afternoon when they were preparing for a gene technology national meeting and were struggling to understand the more technical details. Stephen decided to speak directly with the key staff, so they headed downstairs to the fifth floor to meet with them. As they entered, silence came over the entire area as they were shocked to see the minister on the floor not for a populist walk-through but actually to meet with staff, engage and understand the issues.

Stephen will no doubt be remembered as the health minister who guided South Australia through COVID, but his legacy is much, much more. He saved the Repat and ensured its development to a thriving health precinct. He upgraded hospitals after a disastrous downgrade under the Labor government through Transforming Health. After the former Labor government twice promised The Queen Elizabeth Hospital upgrade but failed to progress, Stephen ensured that western suburbs residents would finally get improved health infrastructure.

During COVID, he was a calming, steady leader at a time of heightened anxiety and uncharted waters. Stephen invested in building bigger and better hospitals through the $3 billion building program. Stephen and the Marshall Liberal government were delivering upgrades to Modbury Hospital, Lyell McEwin Hospital, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Flinders Medical Centre and Noarlunga, as well as building a brand-new Women's and Children's Hospital. Under Stephen's stewardship, our state had more beds, doctors, nurses and ambulance staff than ever before, over 2,800 more than at the 2018 state election. Amongst all of this, he was constantly striving to do better, to learn more and to continue to listen to the people of South Australia.

Stephen's contribution to this chamber and more broadly should not just be acknowledged, it should be celebrated. The Hon. Stephen Wade may have retired from this chamber; however, we know that no matter where he is and no matter what he is doing, he will continue to make a contribution to this state and to the South Australian community more broadly.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I. Pnevmatikos.