House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-05-05 Daily Xml

Contents

ROYAL ADELAIDE HOSPITAL

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:58): My question is again to the Minister for Health. Will the minister confirm that under the new Royal Adelaide Hospital PPP most of the equity funding for the project is likely to come from offshore investors and, therefore, most of the profits paid to investors won't end up in South Australia?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. K.O. Foley: Foreign investment!

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (14:58): Well, if the likes of Jim Katsaros and his friends sign up, then I imagine a fair bit of the equity—I don't know how much equity Mr Katsaros wants to put in or the other investors—

The Hon. K.O. Foley: We have bonds that are bought offshore.

The SPEAKER: Order, the Minister for Police!

The Hon. K.O. Foley interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I am not sure who is answering this—the Minister for Police or the Minister for Health. Minister for Health, I would like you to continue. I gave you the call.

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Thank you very much. My knowledge of international finance is perhaps not as great as my colleagues here, but I will do my best. We are in a global market and we like investment from overseas in our country. I thought that was one of the things that the Liberal Party was supposed to be keen on—overseas investment in Australia. If overseas investment thinks it's a good investment to invest in an Adelaide hospital, I think that's a good thing.

What they know is that they are backing one of the very best hospitals in the world. And why is it going to be a great hospital? It is because it will provide the very best health services to the citizens of our state. I am very proud of what this government is doing in this space. Unfortunately, the opposition keeps knock, knock, knock, knocking. That is all they know how to do, Madam Speaker.