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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-11-11 Daily Xml
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Motions

Hospitals, Car Parking

Debate resumed.

Ms LUETHEN (King) (17:00): I move to amend the motion, as follows:

Delete all words after 'That this house' and insert the following words in lieu thereof:

(a) recognises the importance of hospital car parking in safeguarding access to health services for patients, families and staff, including by managing supply and demand for car parks;

(b) notes that the Rann Labor government introduced standardised metropolitan hospital car parking charges in 2010 without any provision for free parking in multistorey car parks;

(c) commends the Marshall Liberal government for delivering on its election commitment to make hospital car parking more affordable for frequent users and their carers and by having the cost of the weekly car park pass at the Royal Adelaide Hospital;

(d) recognises the Marshall Liberal government's ongoing support for hospital workers during this pandemic through the provision of free car parking and other transport support; and

(e) notes the Marshall Liberal government's significant capital expenditure in providing modern undercover multideck car parking facilities for patients, families and staff.

I must commence speaking to this motion—

Mr PICTON: Point of order: I regret to rise on a point of order; however, by seeking to amend the motion and taking out all the words except for 'That this house' and then introducing a completely separate motion with completely different objects, the member seems to be outside the remit of standing orders.

The SPEAKER: The amendment, as put by the member for King, has been received and accepted. There is no point of order. The member for King has the call.

Ms LUETHEN: I must commence speaking to this motion by making it abundantly clear that I honour the compassion and hard work of our frontline healthcare workers in these challenging times and, as a history lesson, share with this house that the introduction of hospital parking fees for staff was announced by the Rann Labor government in 2010, a fact conveniently forgotten by those opposite.

Standardised fees commenced under the Labor government at Modbury Hospital from 15 August 2011 and at Lyell McEwin Hospital from 17 October 2011, according to SA Health. In February 2012, the Public Service Association challenged hospital car park fees for staff in the Supreme Court. In June 2012, the PSA claim was dismissed by the state Supreme Court. Labor was so committed to hospital car parking fees that they defended their fee schedule in the highest court in the state, and after this public parking fees were not increased until 2019.

A media release by Treasurer Rob Lucas MLC in May 2019 stated that fees had not increased since 2011 in most cases. Under the Marshall Liberal government, all patients and visitors can park free of charge for two hours in the open-air car parks at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre, Modbury Hospital, Noarlunga Hospital and the Lyell McEwin Hospital. Today, public fees for the open-air car parks at all metropolitan hospitals, except Flinders Medical Centre, the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Women's and Children Hospital, are payable by the hour as follows: zero to two hours, free; two to three hours, $3; three to four hours, $6.

At the same time, the Marshall Liberal government has delivered savings for average households from 1 July this year of approximately $200 per year on SA Water bills, an average saving of $163 per year from reductions in the ESL and $158 on electricity bills. South Australian households are on average $800 a year better off since the last election when you add up the cost-of-living pressures we have slashed.

The government also delivered on its election commitment to bring the cost of weekly parking permits at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in line with other metropolitan sites, and there are numerous exemptions for parking outlined on the SA Health website which support all South Australians. For example, patient permits allow free parking for patients undergoing chemotherapy, dialysis and radiotherapy treatments and are provided directly by SA Health. The emergency drop-off car parks are free. With regard to our local hospitals, fee exemptions apply at both Modbury and Lyell McEwin hospitals for:

a new exemption for parents and carers of babies and young child patients who are required to attend the hospital for clinical reasons at least once a week for a period of at least four weeks;

parents or carers of palliative care, paraplegic, quadriplegic, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and renal dialysis patients; and

other relatives or carers on application to the health facility manager for exemptions.

Other ongoing fee exemptions at both hospitals are:

volunteers approved by the health facility manager or delegate; and

bicycle parking in designated locations (excluding motorcycles).

Car park fee exemption applications may also be made to the car parking officer at the site. I am very proud to report that the Marshall Liberal government is investing significant capital expenditure in modern undercover multideck car-parking facilities for consumers, visitors and staff. This includes $20 million for the construction of a new multilevel 500 space car park at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which officially opened on 1 December 2019, and a $7 million extension to the Lyell McEwin Hospital car park, creating many more additional car parks.

The recent extension to the existing multistorey car park at the Lyell McEwen Hospital was opened to the public in June 2020, providing an additional 205 undercover parking spaces over five levels. The new car-parking facilities provide full weather protection to user and include appropriate passenger movement systems, and appropriate lighting and signage systems are integrated within the hospital security and CCTV systems to ensure high levels of security.

This is an important step forward in looking after the safety of patients and staff parking at our hospitals. Despite increases in fees, fees charged remain well below commercial car parking rates and remain favourable when compared to other jurisdictions for public hospital car parking. Revenue raised from the car parking fees at metropolitan and public hospitals is used to support operational activities, including car parking maintenance and upgrades, with all additional revenue raised from fees reinvested to provide better health services.

I have had feedback that it can be difficult at times for hospital staff to access an available park on arrival to work. I take this feedback seriously, and this issue has been escalated to the minister for attention in future car parking reviews. It is a difficult situation at Modbury, with competition from car parking coming from patients, visitors, staff and nearby popular Tea Tree Plaza shoppers, the city commuters and the expanding workforce of datacom. If the parking were open and free in the hospital car park, we could find that the car parks would disappear even faster, which would present a serious problem for staff and patients.

In a response to COVID-19 in April 2020, the state government announced free car parking and public transport for hospital workers in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic; additionally, the government will reimburse staff who park off site up to $101 for their expenses. This arrangement remains in place and clearly demonstrates our government's support for frontline staff.

I commend and thank the SA Health staff across South Australia and particularly in my local hospitals, Modbury and Lyell McEwin, both in terms of the job they have performed this year and the risks they were taking in terms of dealing with the COVID crisis, even volunteering to go interstate to help in Victoria. Not only did frontline health workers rally to the cause but they did this knowing their colleagues overseas were dying. I thank our SA Health staff; they are exceptional. I receive positive feedback about them from my King constituents frequently.

In the 2020 budget announcements, our commitment to keeping South Australians safe and strong continues. In terms of COVID preparedness, we will provide additional inpatient beds: $19.7 million has been committed to create an additional 278 beds. Regarding COVID preparedness PPE, as part of our strong plan to protect South Australians, we are investing $93.1 million to enable South Australian company, Detmold, to manufacture 45 million masks. This will create more jobs and means that our frontline healthcare workers have the protection they need to safely provide South Australians the care they need.

Backing our strong plan to protect South Australians, we are also investing $83 million to enable SA Health to deliver a strong public health response to the global pandemic, including funding for testing, contact tracing and hotel quarantining. We are providing COVID support for our frontline staff.

I am running out of time, but if I had more time I would talk about the amazing investments that are happening locally around King, in Modbury Hospital and Lyell McEwin. We will continue to invest and support our workers.

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (17:11): Of course, the member for King cannot do that because it would not be about parking, would it? I rise to oppose the amendment to the motion, not because I do not like some parts of it but because I would just like to inform the house I actually moved the first motion in a Labor caucus to try to have the first three hours free, and no charge between 6pm and 6am, working on the theory that if you are at the hospital during those hours you are there for a really good reason—someone is sick—and you should not be charged in the first place.

Modbury Hospital, of course, does not have its own multideck car park yet, but I would like to put on the record some information I have been sent by one of the staff members at Modbury Hospital just so everybody knows there are other and alternate positions in this debate. The staff member states:

I'm writing to talk about car parking at Modbury Hospital. Modbury is going to increase next year—

that is, the parking charge—

with [doctors] nurses, cleaners, [orderlies], office staff, patients, visitors and more. Plus our car parking is going to increase in [January] from $1300 [a year] (full time rates pp) to [no-one has told us yet]. So the government can put a car park in—

This is why they are raising it: the staff think this is because you want to put a car park in—

and make a lot more money to pay for it. [It] is not fair that we have to pay for car parking and not [be guaranteed] a park—

As the member for King says, there is great competition for these parks—

so this means [staff at the hospital] have to park in the streets or [Tea Tree Plaza] and get a fine [and] so paying twice. We also have government cars parking in our parks out the back of the hospital—

And this is something that should be fixed and I would hope the members for both King and Newland look into this—

when they have their own car parking spaces. Every day [there are between] 10-12 government cars [in our car parks] and their car park is empty.

So you can see parking is a vexed problem at Modbury Hospital and it is not just the number of car parks; it is the cost of the car park. I think it has been turned into a business. It is a very unfortunate state of affairs, and I think for people to postulate and say they have done the very best they can, when in actual fact we know election promises have not been kept fully, is an unfortunate state of affairs. I am letting you know, sir, I will be voting against the amendment and for the motion.

Mrs POWER (Elder) (17:13): I rise today to support the amended motion. Now more than ever we are aware of the vital contribution of our incredible doctors, nurses and healthcare workers who are keeping our community safe and healthy. They have been on our frontline as we combat COVID-19 and protect the health of all South Australians.

I think I can quite confidently speak on behalf of all of us in this place and in my local community when I say we are so incredibly grateful for their exceptional work in helping us make South Australia one of the safest states in one of the safest nations in the world in the face of this pandemic.

Without a doubt, the Marshall Liberal government acted swiftly and decisively in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was essential that we protect our community, and that included protecting and supporting our hardworking doctors and nurses and all the health and hospital staff on the front line. These are the workers who put themselves at higher risk in order to fight this pandemic and care for the health and wellbeing of others. They work day and night for the good of everyone in our community and continue to do so throughout the uncertain threat of the virus.

The Marshall Liberal government responded swiftly to support these crucial workers and introduced free car parking for hospital staff. In fact, in yesterday's state budget $17 million over two years has been provided for transport relief for hospital staff. Hospital workers who do not have a car or prefer to use public transport to get to work were also being provided with free travel on South Australia's public transport system. Hospital staff can access free parking across all South Australian metropolitan hospitals and receive reimbursements up to $101 per month for non site-related car parking.

We are supporting our doctors and nurses to do their incredible work, and we are also working hard to ensure that they are protected while they do it. The Marshall Liberal government is also investing $93.1 million this financial year in personal protective equipment for our frontline health workers. This will enable the purchase of five million medical masks and 40 million level 3 barrier protection surgical masks to support SA Health's response to COVID-19.

Proud South Australian company, Detmold Australia, which many of us might know from the coffee cups they make and we get to enjoy our coffee in, is using its own local facilities to manufacture and supply the additional face masks—an absolute credit to them. This has allowed for an uninterrupted supply and allows SA Health to support hospitals and healthcare workers, service delivery agencies, aged-care providers and non-government organisations. The safety of our health workers is a priority of this government, and we are protecting those who have done so much and have done such an incredible job in helping to protect us.

We have invested $330 million over three years of both commonwealth and state funding to protect the health and wellbeing of South Australians in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and to support our frontline workers. Looking after doctors, nurses and healthcare staff is part of the Marshall government's strong plan to keep South Australia safe and strong, and free car parking for the doctors, nurses, cleaners and receptionists at our metropolitan hospitals is only one of a series of initiatives that we have put in place.

For example, we have also given frontline health workers a free flu vaccination to help protect them from the flu whilst fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The Health Heroes Hotel initiative provides a welcome sanctuary for health workers to rest, to give them peace of mind that they are minimising any risk to their families and to support them during this time. We will continue to support our healthcare workers who are doing such an amazing job to help keep us safe and strong, and I would like to take this opportunity to commend them all.

Ms COOK (Hurtle Vale) (17:18): I rise to speak on the motion from the member for Kaurna regarding hospital car parking. I will of course be supporting this very hardworking member's motion. I started working in the healthcare sector obviously when I was three, because I worked in the healthcare sector for about 28 years, and I have been here for a few years, and I have been subjected to car parking charges for only some of that time.

As a student nurse at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, I did not pay for car parking. Sometimes it was a challenge to get a car park and you had to park over at the shopping centre and move in. As time went on, governments recognised that the safety of healthcare workers is vital and invested in onsite multistorey car parks at hospitals, and that was truly welcomed.

The point has to again be made that the current Treasurer in the other place, Mr Lucas, was the instigator and implementer of hospital car parking charges under the Olsen government, if I remember correctly, during the nineties. That caused us great pain, but nowhere near the pain of the charges that started appearing through that term, as private contractors started to push their weight around in terms of fees.

For highly qualified nurses, it is obviously not a big percentage of their income, but there are a lot of people significantly impacted. They are people on minimum wages, people working in kitchens, cleaners, hospital orderlies, porters. These are vital workers, essential workers, who are still fighting for their rights in terms of pay and enterprise bargaining agreements, and the Treasurer has not come to the party. People on lower incomes are still paying high fees and will face them in the future, although I know that we managed to get some good relief during the COVID period, and for that I am really thankful.

You can negotiate with the government. When you are a backbencher and it affects your constituents, you can negotiate with the minister of the day. I have two examples of that from when I was a backbencher in the Labor government during the period of the development of the car park to be seen from outer space, at the southern end of Flinders Medical Centre—the enormous car park. I was able to negotiate with then health minister, Jack Snelling, to get a reduced parking cost, and I believe from memory it was a 50 per cent reduction in the cost of car parking for people who chose to park off site at the Tonsley precinct.

The original proposition was also put up by the Department for Transport, I believe, for a bus to transfer people to and from the hospital and car park at Tonsley after hours. It put them at risk, to some degree, because it was dropping them off at the back of the area, or the front and they had to go to the back—my memory is vague. At the time, it was a safety issue.

We had to do battle with two ministers to get changes made. Fees were reduced. At 5.30 in the morning it is dark. After a 12-hour shift in intensive care, in emergency, maternity, it is dark when you finish at dinnertime, so you do not want people being dropped off anywhere and having to walk just 500 metres. Just 500 metres is a long distance to walk at night.

Those things were negotiated as was the original plan, as recommended, for one less storey on the car park, from memory. Given lots and lots of consultation and my deep connection with the thousands of healthcare workers who continued to contact me about this and that, those people reached out to me then and made the case without any scientific reasoning, which we were able to put through, that this car park would be full by 2.30 in the afternoon and not able to be accessed by all afternoon shift workers.

We managed to get an extra storey put on it. That is a bit of a journey of negotiation and change that can happen. I say these things because I urge backbenchers, when the time comes to reinstate these full, elevated car parking fees, to use your voice to speak to your ministers in cabinet to argue for the safety and dignity of healthcare and essential workers who are accessing these car parks.

If you cannot get their attention on that, then draw their attention to the people, the many thousands of people who are attending outpatient appointments, visiting relatives, visiting very sick friends and providing that only point of contact. Again, sure, there are some allowances. Some dispensation is offered to family members and some of the members might not be aware of that. You may have people you know visiting very unwell people in hospital at the moment. Make sure they talk to the staff on the ward and see if they qualify for any sort of reduced rates when it comes to car parking, because they are there to use—sadly, not for enough.

For some, the impost of paying $15 or $20 for visiting a loved one in hospital, when you are on disability supplements or aged-care payments, is just too much to bear. It is not enough to just sit there and allow these awful increases to stay in place. These can change. With a budget where debt is racking up to record levels, these small things are very small revenue issues. They do not make a difference to the bottom line in the big scheme of things.

If there was ever a time to appeal to Treasurer Lucas, who now feels this whole shopping expedition is like the Paris Hilton journey, talk to him about car parking being part of that shopping trolley, part of that money that can be spent on people as a way of closing the gap of inequity. There is very little in this current budget that addresses the inequity of poverty and where people with low incomes are sitting within our state.

With JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments and other supplements set to drop, I think it is a good time for you to start making a case to look at these small things in terms of our state budget and say, 'Rob, it's time. They're good people and they deserve a fair go, so let's see these car parking costs go down.' I thank the member for Kaurna for his representation and I know in your hearts that you agree with this. I commend the motion.

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (17:27): I thank members for their contribution, particularly the member for Hurtle Vale and the member for Florey. I oppose completely, categorically, the amendments being moved by the member for King.

I think it is disappointing that we have in the contributions from the member for King and the member for Elder a defence of the position of the government where they have torn up their election promise and are imposing these disgraceful fees not only on patients, carers and families but also on nurses, allied health professionals, cleaners and orderlies in our hospital system. There is a 129 per cent increase for staff and a 25 per cent increase for patients and their families. That is the position that the member for King and the member for Elder are today defending.

They are, in fact, moving an amendment to congratulate the government on its actions in relation to hospital car parking. I do not think that the people who live in the member for King's electorate and the member for Elder's electorate are congratulating the government on these increases. I do not think that they would look at that as appropriate representation for them in this chamber, that they would come in here and give the government, the Premier, Rob Lucas and Stephen Wade a pat on the back for making it more expensive for their family to get to hospital, for making it more expensive for nurses and allied health professionals to get to work to save people's lives in our hospital system and to basically cut their pay while they are saving people's lives.

This is a very clear broken promise and these members—the member for King and the member for Elder—are today defending that before the house. Clearly, this is not strong advocacy on behalf of those communities. I think those communities are looking for those members to be strong advocates and to speak up for the communities in the north-eastern suburbs and the inner southern suburbs.

They have not seen that today: they have seen silence and also a defence of the government on these massive increases, which are completely against the platform they were both elected to this house on. They were elected on a platform—the government called it their 'strong plan'—and this is completely against that. They promised they were going to cut hospital car parking fees by $3 million and they have increased them by $33 million. That is the legacy that the government, including the member for King and the member for Elder, have left.

Clearly, people in those electorates need to consider the record of those members in supporting those increases when they next vote. Are they supporting members who back increases in hospital car parking fees, who back these increases and who have not stood up for their communities against them, who have not raised their concerns but who instead have come here to try to defend them in the house? That is an important question those electors will face in 16 months' time—whether to give the member for King and the member for Elder another four years on the job.

I would argue that they have not stood up for their communities. I would argue that, in coming here to defend this disgraceful broken promise, it is a slap in the face to those families who need hospital care, to those nurses, allied health professionals, cleaners, orderlies, you name it, who need to pay more—$725 a year more—to get to work, a 129 per cent increase to get to work. If that is what the government have done after they have—

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr PICTON: —passed a promise, when they promised to cut car parking fees, and apparently all the members are happy with that, if they get re-elected what are they going to do? How much will they put them up next time? They put them up 25 per cent for patients last time; are they going to put them up another 25 per cent? They put them up 129 per cent for staff last time; how much are they going to put them up now—another 129 per cent?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my right!

Mr PICTON: Maybe they will put them up 200 per cent, or maybe they will put them up 300 per cent. Clearly, electors will judge them on their record, the member for King and the member for Elder, in terms of what has been delivered by this government on the election promise that was completely broken and on the increased fees for patients, carers, nurses, allied health professionals. Who knows what the increase will be if they get re-elected.

The house divided on the amendment:

Ayes 22

Noes 21

Majority 1

AYES
Basham, D.K.B. Chapman, V.A. Cowdrey, M.J.
Cregan, D. Ellis, F.J. Gardner, J.A.W.
Harvey, R.M. (teller) Knoll, S.K. Luethen, P.
McBride, N. Murray, S. Patterson, S.J.R.
Pederick, A.S. Pisoni, D.G. Power, C.
Sanderson, R. Speirs, D.J. Tarzia, V.A.
Treloar, P.A. van Holst Pellekaan, D.C. Whetstone, T.J.
Wingard, C.L.
NOES
Bedford, F.E. Bell, T.S. Bettison, Z.L.
Bignell, L.W.K. Boyer, B.I. Brock, G.G.
Brown, M.E. Close, S.E. Cook, N.F.
Gee, J.P. Hildyard, K.A. Hughes, E.J.
Koutsantonis, A. Malinauskas, P. Michaels, A.
Mullighan, S.C. Odenwalder, L.K. Piccolo, A.
Picton, C.J. (teller) Stinson, J.M. Szakacs, J.K.
PAIRS
Marshall, S.S. Wortley, D.

Amendment thus carried; motion as amended carried.

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