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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-05-13 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

State Liberal Government

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (15:24): Each and every one of us in this place occupies a privileged position that brings with it a whole range of peculiar arrangements that we all collectively and individually have to ensure does not go to our head so that we lose sight of the purpose for which we have been elected. Of course, that is particularly true for those people who occupy the treasury bench or those people who are in positions of authority in government, particularly those within cabinet, ministers.

Each and every one of those ministers have been bestowed a particular privilege and an acute responsibility to exercise the functions of their office to ensure that the interests of the South Australian people are accorded with and best represented and advocated for. It is always alarming when signs of either arrogance or indifference are starting to be displayed by those people who are in those positions of privilege. I just cannot help but get the sense that during the course of this week we have started to see a few signs of that. I am not too sure if it is arrogance or indifference but, either way, it is something that I think should concern us.

The two examples I would point to are probably the two most topical events that have occurred throughout the course of this working week, starting with the ambulance ramping crisis, which continues to perpetuate itself. There is growing evidence that this problem is not getting any better; indeed, it is getting worse and worse. Just when we think we cannot hear of yet another tragedy, another one bowls up that is more alarming than the one before.

We would point to the really concerning case of Agatha during the week. It really horrified people as they saw the images of a 90-plus year old woman in the back of an ambulance in very clear discomfort, and her daughter, who was feeling that pain and distress that is associated with seeing a loved one not receiving the care and attention that you would expect in a First World country like our own. That was a really distressing image.

The response from the government is the now all too familiar apology, but it is not met with much response or action. There is just a long laundry list of things that the government proclaim they are doing, most of which of course were initiatives initiated by the former Labor government, including the Modbury Hospital example that we keep hearing about. That had virtually nothing to do with this government. There is a long laundry list of things that are being done without actually addressing the issue that is I think most significant, and that is that we need more resources. We need more people, not just more buildings.

The news that has emerged during the course of today, that the investment at the Flinders Medical Centre emergency department is not actually resulting in a net increase in beds at that facility, I think should have us all horrified. That is a classic example of a government trying to say, 'We are doing one thing over here,' but in actual fact they are taking it from over there, which speaks to an indifference about addressing the problem at hand. Use the power of government. Use the privilege and the powers that have been invested in you to actually try to do something that is going to make a difference structurally in the long term.

The second big story this week, of course, is about that tragedy at Port Lincoln. I am not suggesting for a moment that those in government are not horrified by that case; every person is. It is one of those stories, when you first read about it or hear about it, where each of us takes a deep breath. We are horrified at the idea that any child would find themselves sleeping in a bin, let alone three people.

We hear about that incident and then we hear that what has happened from government is that everyone has been briefed. This minister has been briefed, that minister has been briefed, but then the question is: what next? And it turns out literally nothing. An independent organisation, in SAPOL, have taken the initiative and initiated an investigation. We have heard that the Child Death and Serious Injury Review Committee might of their own accord, maybe, take the initiative of conducting an investigation. But what has the government done? Nothing.

I put this to you, Mr Speaker: what is the point of you all being briefed if you do not take that briefing and do something about it? If I was briefed as Premier or if the shadow minister for child protection was briefed that this tragedy had taken place, I would be saying, 'Right. What are we going to do about it?'

Let's start by availing ourselves of the information that gets to the nub of the question, which is: how on earth did this even happen in the first place? Do you know how many inquiries are going on at the moment into DCP, Mr Speaker? None. The minister has been briefed, but the minister, having been briefed, has not said, 'Well, how on earth has this happened? We are going to launch this inquiry, we are going to conduct this investigation, which may indeed lead to some policy change.'

No-one thinks the situation of hospital ramping is acceptable. No-one thinks the tragedy that occurred in Port Lincoln is acceptable in a society of our modern sophistication. But if that is the accepted judgement of everyone in this place, then what are you doing about it? We want to make sure on this side of politics, being a progressive party, we are a party of action that actually responds and does something to address these tragedies.

Time expired.

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