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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-05-20 Daily Xml
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Health Services

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (15:34): I was not going to contribute in the grievance debate today but, given the contributions of the member for Playford and the member for Reynell, I will. I am going to respond to the two speeches that were dripping with hypocrisy, and I am responding to them for these reasons. The member for Playford, the Minister for Health, former Treasurer, comes into this place and says that the Liberal Party hates hospitals.

Now, he made that comment in a previous parliament. I immediately got up and made a grievance speech and told the parliament the reasons that we do not hate hospitals (what political party would?) but the reality is I outlined to the house the history of my first-born who was saved by the public hospital system in this state. He had meningitis at two years old and was in the humidicrib under critical care for four weeks—saved by the public hospital system.

Then the Minister for Health has the gall to come in here knowing that and repeat the claim and stand by his claim. Read his speech, Deputy Speaker. He stood by the claim knowing the speech that was responded to previously. That is fine, but this is the Minister for Health who used to be treasurer. I know he is upset for losing the Treasury but, after all, he could not deliver a surplus. He is upset with losing the Treasury. He has gone to the current Treasurer and now he is nervous, of course, for the Minister for Transport from the same faction has come into the parliament and the member for Playford's leadership ambition might just be passing him by, just like a budget surplus.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: This is the Minister for Health—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I am on my feet.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: —who is going to oversee $1,000 million—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am on my feet, member for Davenport. I will not have this shouting in the chamber. You can say anything you like within the standing orders, but I will not have shouting and I will not have you speaking over the top of other people. I will leave the chamber if it continues.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: This is the Minister for Health who is going to oversee $1,000 million in cuts to the health budget—$1,000 million cut to the health budget—and that was announced before the last election in the forward estimates in the Budget and Finance Committee in the other place—$1,000 million. Do I hear the member for Reynell coming in, dripping hypocrisy—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Kaurna and member for Taylor, order!

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Do I hear the member for Reynell mention that—$1,000 million going in the health budget, all due to Labor's mismanagement? They are silent. The Minister for Health comes in and complains about the federal government's proposed budget, but he does not mention that he, the Minister for Health, the member for Playford, the former treasurer, who knows how the health system works, is going to deliver $1,000 million in cuts to the health budget.

They are going to deliver $250 million cuts to the education budget. They are going to deliver $150 million to the police budget. The reality is it was all done prior to the Abbott government, all announced prior to the election, all due to the incompetence of the current Labor government. I invite those opposite to pick up today's Australian and read the article that is headed 'Deeper losses in ALP's cap plan', and The Australian outlines this very simple fact:

Labor would have had to impose spending cuts reaching $100 billion a year or almost double those in the government's budget to keep spending growth below its preferred limit of 2 per cent a year across the next decade.

So, the reality is that federal Labor that set its spending cut at 2 per cent would have had to actually cut twice as hard. Now, where is the great speech from the member for Reynell criticising the former Labor government? I hear nothing. Where is the member for Playford coming in criticising the former Labor government? You will not hear that.

The two speeches by the member for Playford and the member for Reynell are dripping in hypocrisy, absolutely dripping in hypocrisy, and the poor old member for Kaurna, former chief of staff to a health minister, knows about the health budget and knows they are going to cut $1,000 million out of it, and you should be embarrassed. The reality is your government is going to cut $1,000 million out of health and you are embarrassed about it—and so you should be.

Time expired.

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