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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
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Women's Hospital

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:13): Given that the government had provided a costing for the people of South Australia in the lead-up to the last election, which in essence amounted to $2 million per bed, can the minister explain whether the original costing of $600 million for those 296 beds was incorrect or whether there is a massive increase in the number of beds envisaged in the new women's hospital?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:14): When we have sat down and done the detailed costing, the current budget allocation that was announced yesterday—$528 million—is the cost of building a new women's hospital.

Mr Marshall: But how many beds?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: The opposition needs to get out more and needs to spend a bit of time actually visiting hospitals. A hospital is more than just its beds. I think the Leader of the Opposition has gone back to Florence Nightingale ideas, that all a hospital was was a big room full of beds. A modern hospital is more than just that, and the costs of building a hospital are driven by far more—

Mr Marshall: You got the same question on the radio this morning.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Well, obviously, the only place you get questions is by listening to Matt and Dave. I'm glad Matt and Dave are able to write your questions for you, but just because you ask it doesn't make it any more intelligent. A hospital is, of course, a lot more than just its beds, and its costs—the cost of building a hospital—if you think it's a simple equation that the number of beds somehow delivers you the price of a hospital—

Mr Marshall: You don't know the number.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Please keep carrying on like that, and I can't wait for the election ads with you screaming your head off sounding like a demented banshee. It is going to make for wonderful campaign ads.

Mr GARDNER: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: 'Demented banshee', I don't think it's in the list.

Mr GARDNER: Just because a creature is mythical does not make it parliamentary.

The SPEAKER: Well, it might be.

An honourable member: It's not an animal.

The SPEAKER: It's not an animal. That was my thinking—it wasn't an animal.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: No, 'unicorn' is unparliamentary because it's an animal.

Mr GARDNER: Banshees are as much an animal as a unicorn.

The SPEAKER: No. No, obviously, the member for Morialta isn't of Irish origin, otherwise he would know he is wrong about that.

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: We might move on with question time, and I will get a ruling on 'banshee'.

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