House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-02-28 Daily Xml

Contents

MARJORIE JACKSON-NELSON HOSPITAL

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:16): I have a supplementary question. How much has been provided for decontamination in the $1.7 billion?

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (15:16): If I were to answer the member now I would be guessing. The figure of $40 million sticks in my mind but, rather than be attached to that, I will get a response back to the member. Always in relation to decontamination, one is exploring without detailed knowledge because, until you actually start digging, you do not really know what is there. Everything is based on the best guesses available and the best science that we can get, but there is provision and there are contingencies in the budget so that, if the direct allocation is not sufficient, other funds are there to pick up where that may be insufficient.

The advice that I have is that there is sufficient allocation in the budget to cover that particular problem. It will not cost—as I think the member might be suggesting—the $1 billion that I think one of the television programs suggested in a shock-horror report after the news one evening.