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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-03-07 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

KNIGHT, PROF. J.

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (15:13): Today we saw South Australian taxpayers paying out $1 million towards a $4.3 million payout to Professor John Knight, the former head of the Flinders Medical Centre cardiac and thoracic unit. Added to this cost, what are the costs of the Crown Solicitor's fees, what were the costs of the coronial inquiry, and what are all the other costs that are being added on to the long-suffering taxpayers having to pay out, having to repair damage that has been done by this government? We understand that it will be well in the $6 million figure. The people of South Australia should be asking questions about what is going on in the health department, what is going on in this government.

Professor Knight was exonerated by the Coroner. He won his legal claim against the government, but now we would like to see the trifecta. We would like to see the fact that Professor Knight is going to get an apology from this government. We saw that today, when I asked the question: will this government apologise to Professor Knight for the damage that has been done to his reputation over the claims and accusations and his being stood aside from his position as a prominent surgeon in our public health system? No, we are not getting an apology at all.

This government is happy to name the man in parliament here, to say that he has been suspended from a public position, a man who is well known in the medical profession throughout South Australia and I should say nationally and internationally, who is an exceptionally fine surgeon and who was exonerated by the Coroner when there were accusations made against him about a particular case that he was involved in. The Coroner cleared Professor Knight and what do we see now? We see that the government has continued to battle with Dr Knight, has continued to make the South Australian taxpayers pay out for their incompetence and their mismanagement.

The most important thing this government could do is make sure this never ever happens again. I am very pleased to see that the Minister for Health today has said that the Commissioner for Public Employment, Mr Warren McCann, will carry out an independent review of the circumstances in which it is appropriate for a suspension of a clinician or healthcare worker to be made. In other words, they are admitting the fact that mistakes were made in the past, but they will not come back, they will not correct those mistakes and they will not apologise to Professor Knight for the damage that was done.

They named Professor Knight in parliament here, and everybody in this place knows—lawyers know it, doctors know it, vets know it and any professional knows that your reputation is absolutely paramount. So, to be publicly named—

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: Tell that to Luigi. Remember Luigi?

Dr McFETRIDGE: —is to be publicly shamed, isn't it, Patrick? To be publicly named is to be publicly shamed, and that is what happened to Professor Knight in this place. The damage that was done can be partly repaired by some financial payout, but the damage will never ever be completely repaired unless this government comes back into this place and says to Professor Knight, 'What we did was wrong'. There were issues that need to be investigated, sure, but do not name the man, do not shame the man publicly in here and then we all know what has happened since then.

The Coroner found that the professor was completely above board. All of his actions were completely professional. He was exonerated of all claims against him. We know that the government was offered to negotiate with Dr Knight and his legal team a long time ago, and it could have settled for a much lesser figure, but we have seen now a figure of $1 million for the health department, millions of dollars from the insurance company and how much from crown law for these many years? This started in October 2009, so we are talking years and years of legal expenses, legal costs and particularly professional hurt to Dr Knight.

It is a disappointing thing to see in this place that people do not have the courage of their convictions or the moral courage to stand up in this place and do the right thing, not only to ensure that it never happens again, as we are seeing with Mr McCann's investigation, but to recognise the hurt that has been done in the past. This is something that should never ever have happened. Naming people in this place is something that we should be very, very careful about, particularly when the facts are yet to be proved.

That was the case here and, by Professor Knight being named in this place, his reputation was severely damaged, and we have seen that in the monetary payout today. Let's have an apology from this government to Dr Knight and let's make sure it never happens again, because your reputation, whether you are a vet, a lawyer or a doctor, is the most paramount thing you can have. It is your credibility that is at stake and we should never ever risk that in coward's castle by naming people.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The ever popular member for West Torrens.

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