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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-04-06 Daily Xml
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PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (15:42): I rise today to update the house on my role as the parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Health and the Minister for the Southern Suburbs. In the health sector I have been giving the minister a hand with country health and have been travelling around the state meeting people and looking at some of the health facilities.

I started at the Keith Hospital and had a very good meeting with the board, and I want to congratulate them on the work they have done for their community. I also went doorknocking in Keith, and it has been a long time since anyone has doorknocked in Keith, let me tell the house. I had a very good reception there and it was wonderful that people gave up their time to talk to me about their links to the hospital, and people obviously are very attached to that hospital.

I picked up some really good stories and met some very nice people, including the ladies at Mrs Davidson's house who were playing bridge. I had a lovely 20 minutes with the four ladies there. The son-in-law of one of those ladies is on the Keith Hospital board, so I could tell him later in the day when we had our meeting with the board that I met his mother-in-law. That was very good.

Last Monday I went up to the Barossa Valley and, with the member for Schubert, looked at the Tanunda and Angaston hospitals. The member for Schubert has been very vocal in calling for a new hospital to be built in Tanunda on a greenfields site, and there are very good reasons for that. I want to thank the staff of those two hospitals for taking me around and showing me their facilities. It is a $70 million proposition and, obviously, the federal government would have to help out with that, so I wish the member for Schubert well in that cause.

Last week I went to Ceduna to visit the half-finished Ceduna District Health Services. The new hospital is open and the staff had all moved in. They have been in about a week. In fact, they had their first birth the night before I arrived, so everyone was pleased to know that things worked well and that everything was in its place. It is always difficult moving house, let alone moving hospitals with brand new facilities. To hear that it all went well is very good.

It has fantastic views, as well. It is right on the seafront, and everyone has their own single room with an ensuite, which will be just like the new Royal Adelaide Hospital when it is built. The Ceduna hospital and associated health facilities are part of a $36 million project at Ceduna. It is great that the government is investing in our regions.

Later on in the day I joined with the members for Light, Frome, Chaffey and Hammond as we had our first site tour as the Select Committee on the Grain Handling Industry, which is a great committee. It is the first time I have been on a select committee, and it is fantastic to get out in the regions and talk to farmers and people down on the wharves to find out how it all works and how it could perhaps work better.

I thank everyone who has already come along to give evidence to our committee. People have been very respectful of fellow farmers and the people who are involved in the industry. We are getting to hear some stories—some good, some bad—about what went right and what went wrong in this harvest and perhaps how things can be done better in the future.

As I said, that was our first week on the road. We started in Ceduna and then flew to Cowell. We had a great meeting there in the afternoon and then flew down to Port Lincoln that evening. We had a meeting in Port Lincoln the next morning, followed by a site visit to the wharves at Port Lincoln. We then flew on to Minlaton, where the member for Goyder was in the audience.

Mr Brock interjecting:

Mr BIGNELL: We also did a tour of the port of Thevenard while we were in Ceduna. It was very informative to see how they load the gypsum, the salt and the grain all at one facility. I also want to mention that the member for Flinders was in attendance at the Port Lincoln meeting. These members have offered to act as conduits for us to make sure that more and more people around the state come along and give evidence.

Next week we are off to Tailem Bend, Pinnaroo and Loxton, and we will be having meetings there. I invite any members of the public who want to give evidence or make contact with us to please do so. The following week we are off to Wallaroo, Crystal Brook, Clare and Freeling, so we are getting about the state. We want to hear all the stories about what is good and what is bad about the grain industry here so we can help make any improvements that might be needed before the next harvest is in.

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