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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-02-07 Daily Xml
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Private Members' Statements

Private Members' Statements

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (15:41): The man we all know as Eddie died on 27 December after waiting 10 hours for an ambulance—which is 10 times longer than he should have. The public actually only found out about Eddie's death once the ambulance union released information publicly more than a week after it had occurred.

We know there are a number of questions around the circumstances of what happened around that death, but one thing we do know is that during that month of December, when Eddie passed away, 3,594 hours were lost in ramping. That is one of the worst months on record, and it is the very thing the Premier of South Australia promised to fix.

We are really disappointed, as was the family, that the Premier failed to front up on that day and explain not just to Eddie's family but also to the people of South Australia how this could possibly happen. I noted today that the government is out talking about response times, focusing only on priority 1 cases and priority 2 cases, essentially ignoring all the rest and ignoring the fact that a recent productivity report showed that South Australia has the worst response times in the nation.

Putting that aside, it is safe to say that I would encourage the minister and the Premier to perhaps focus more on their promise to fix ramping in South Australia and a little less on organising arts and crafts for a media stunt to try to make a desperate point. They are happy to front up to talk about ambulance response times, but they are nowhere to be seen when it comes to explaining to Eddie's family what possibly occurred on the day of his death. We know there were Code Whites right across the system.

I would like to pay tribute to Eddie's family, his uncle Steve and aunty Brenda, who bravely came forward to share their grief and encourage the government to get on top of its number one election commitment. They deserve answers, and so do the paramedics.

The SPEAKER: I did not wish to interrupt the member, but it was also necessary for me to put the question in relation to the house noting grievances. The member for Schubert's contribution was of course the first of our personal statements.

Mrs PEARCE (King) (15:43): I would like to mention a truly remarkable member of my community, Robert Styling. He has provided 51 years of devoted service to the Salisbury CFS, for 12 of which he held captaincy. He has been a group officer of the Para Group, overseeing six very active brigades in the northern region.

He has also been the chief fire and rescue marshal for the last five years, making him responsible for 120 marshals as well as being incident commander should anything occur around the track. He is currently the chair of the Mobo Group Board, on which he has served for seven years, and has previously served on the board of the CFS Foundation, having spent two years as its CEO.

In a 28-year tenure as the general manager of Human Resources at Phoenix Society, he played a national role in government committees for disability employment programs and was instrumental in establishing an employment facility in the northern suburbs. Through his involvement with the CFS, Robert utilised strategic thinking to develop and diversify the Salisbury brigade as the area developed a more urban focus. His efforts have ensured sustained membership and resource development for broader community impact. It is why I always enjoy seeing Rob and the Salisbury team each year at my community safety day. They are incredibly passionate about working with our local community to keep everybody safe.

If all that was not enough, Rob has been a JP since 1989. He has spent over 35 years at motorsports as a fire marshal and has been in a senior role with the Formula One Grand Prix since 2001. With all these under his belt, it is no surprise that Rob was awarded the City of Salisbury Citizen of the Year. On behalf of my community, I would like to thank and congratulate him for all his work.

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (15:45): I take this opportunity to speak in parliament today about some of the Australia Day award winners who were recognised for outstanding voluntary contributions to the community. This year saw two excellent volunteer members of the Glenelg Surf Life Saving Club recognised for their work in our community by the City of Holdfast Bay.

Peter Tidswell was named Citizen of the Year. Pete is a legend of Glenelg Surf Life Saving Club and has been a crucial part of the growth of the club by increasing professionalism and the profile of the club in our community. Fellow surf member Josh Warne was also recognised with the Young Citizen of the Year Award. Last summer, Josh spent around 360 hours on patrol and in emergency operations for the club and also volunteered on New Year's Eve, keeping partygoers at Glenelg safe around the water.

In the City of West Torrens, Novar Gardens resident Brenton Gill was awarded the Citizen of the Year Award. Brenton was recognised for his work as a justice of the peace for over 50 years—an amazing achievement. I would also like to acknowledge Glengowrie local Jessica Williams for being a co-recipient of the City of Marion's Young Citizen of the Year Award. A young Indian immigrant, Jessica was recognised for her work establishing Small World Networking, which aims to assist newcomers to Marion by connecting them to vital services. Congratulations to all the award recipients.

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (15:46): I just want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to one incredible member of our community. There are many, but on this occasion I want to speak about Jody Moate. I first met Jody a few years ago when she was part of the Friends of Springbank Secondary campaign to save the school. She was such an incredible leader. Since then, I have come across all these other things that she does that connect people and improve our community. She has the gorgeous little library on Lloyd Street, which is a lovely gathering place for people and a spot where people trade books but also herbs, and she makes dog biscuits.

She also was integral to the community campaign to turn an old Sea Scout's hall in Pasadena into a community centre, which I was really proud to commit funding to for the last election. We have seen that funding delivered. She has continued to play such an important part of that community centre. She also started the Pasadena and St Marys Action Group.

It was really, really exciting on 25 January to see all of her efforts recognised when the City of Mitcham named her Active Citizen of the year. I know Jody would be a bit mortified that I am doing this, but I think it is really important to pay tribute to somebody who works so hard and is such an important part of our community and who continues to bring us together and make us stronger and look out for one another.

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