Question Time

Ambulance Ramping

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:22): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing a question to the Leader of the Government on broken promises.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Prior to the last election the state government promised South Australians that they would fix ramping and urged them to vote like their life depended on it. The honourable minister would know that because I know he was on pre-poll for significant amounts of time, and I saw him there with the erroneous posters.

Recent statistics show that sick South Australian patients and paramedics have now endured the 33 worst months of ramping in our state's history. My question to the leader is: will he and the Premier admit that they have broken their key election promise to fix ramping and apologise to the hardworking paramedics and sick patients who have spent more time stuck on the ramp than at any point in South Australia's history?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (14:23): Although this is the portfolio of my colleague the Minister for Health, I am happy to repeat, because I know that there were some members opposite from the Liberal opposition who weren't listening properly when I read the statement on his behalf. I am happy to repeat just a little bit of that.

When the petition to which I referred to earlier, back in 2021, under the term of the last Liberal government, was initially tabled, I am advised—as I read before—only one out of every three ambulances turned up on time, whereas now there is a two-thirds chance of the priority ambulance arriving on time rather than a two-thirds chance of it not arriving on time.

As I informed the opposition and the chamber when I made the statement in relation to the petition before, in its first three budgets this government has delivered $7.1 billion in additional funding to the health system, equivalent to adding 600 extra beds right across the health system. As I mentioned before, that is the equivalent of two brand new Queen Elizabeth hospitals, adding also 1,400 clinicians above attrition. That is including 691 extra nurses, 329 extra doctors, 219 extra ambos and 193 extra allied health workers.