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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-10-17 Daily Xml
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Preventive Health SA Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 26 September 2024).

Ms PRATT (Frome) (16:25): I rise as the lead speaker for the opposition to reflect and comment on the Preventive Health SA Bill 2024.

The state Labor government established Preventive Health SA in February 2024, consolidating key prevention functions and establishing an advisory council to guide the development of a permanent prevention agency within the state health system with a more consolidated focus on alcohol and tobacco use, controlled substances and suicide prevention.

Throughout June 2024, over 75 stakeholders participated in a public consultation on this draft bill in South Australia. This new bill positions itself to be a continuation of Wellbeing SA, with similar objectives like tackling health determinants and preventable risk factors, improving health equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and spearheading preventive health initiatives.

In consuming some of the documents available on the YourSAy website and from the report, the consultation process revealed that Preventive Health SA needs to clarify or is seeking to clarify its focus on non-communicable health conditions, strengthening its council membership and strengthening its functions. It should also aim to strengthen its engagement with stakeholders, collaborating with government and non-government agencies ensuring clarity in functions. The strategic plan that follows should also be clarified as it is and that the chief executive would consult with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons.

This new legislation—this bill—to be considered has been developed giving consideration to interstate models for preventive agencies such as the Australian National Preventive Health Agency, Victoria Health, Health and Wellbeing Queensland and Healthway in Western Australia.

I also acknowledge that there has been broad approval from the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), Cancer Council SA, Heart Foundation, Diabetes SA, University of South Australia, Flinders University, Adelaide University, Public Health Association of Australia, Australian Health Promotion Association, South Australian Council of Social Service, Local Government Association of South Australia and the South Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation Network.

I also acknowledge the establishment of the advisory council for this bill. It has been instrumental to the government, obviously, in formulating this bill that we now consider, with members from a range of backgrounds in preventive health organisations. That membership of the advisory council includes the Hon. Nicola Roxon, who chaired the process; Dr Michelle Atchison, well known to many; Dr Andrew Culley; the fabulous Dr Alison Edwards from Port Broughton; Professor Caroline Miller; Associate Professor Odette Pearson; Kim Morey and Dr Rhiannon Pilkington.

I also note that the YourSAy report from the findings of this consultation period reported that stakeholders provided feedback on operational aspects of the Preventive Health SA Bill including merit-based appointment processes, an investment target, a cross-agency committee, formal collaboration frameworks, priority areas and shared metrics for success. These matters will be integrated into the legislation's implementation, as we understand it, with consideration given to the creation of regulations for these purposes.

The minister might recall that in estimates earlier this year, the opposition was interested to understand more about the anticipated bill that is before us, but also the transition from Wellbeing SA to Preventive Health SA, asking what might be the differences between the two agencies.

At the time, the minister was prepared to provide some update and context, noting that he certainly appreciated the work that had been done by the former Liberal minister, Minister Wade of the other place, in setting up Wellbeing SA, but I think the context was that it did not have all the prevention elements included within it. They were noted to be Priority Care Centres, My Home Hospital and at home community services, all sitting within Wellbeing SA but perhaps not defined as prevention. Whereas, on the other hand, there was not a whole range of key prevention tasks such as smoking, vaping, alcohol and other drug campaigns that were sitting within DASA. I hope I have paraphrased the minister fairly there.

Wellbeing SA, as I have mentioned, was an initiative established in 2020 by the former Liberal government with a focus on improving the physical, mental and social wellbeing aspects of South Australians with a population health approach. As part of the government's response to managing COVID-19 at the time, the agency also launched Open Your World with a particular focus on wellbeing.

The former Liberal government was committed to delivering high-quality public health services focusing on safety, equity, access and responsiveness to benefit the health and wellbeing of all South Australians. The COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges, of course. We have heard that exhaustively in this chamber, but it did present new challenges to health systems worldwide and SA Health was integral to the public health response.

Under the former minister's supervision, the department had adapted to the changing environment, designing and implementing measures to deliver responsive, accessible and safe services. The department's work at the time was to improve organisational culture and address needs for the staff and that has been essential to the organisation's success.

Wellbeing SA's five-year plan aimed to improve health and wellbeing in South Australia, embed prevention throughout life, and achieve 2040 outcomes of improved physical, mental and social wellbeing. That Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2020-2025 focused on prevention, protection, innovation, and sustaining SA Health services and care. The plan aimed to reduce health disparities and respond to priority populations, particularly Aboriginal South Australians.

I also add that the former Liberal government successfully delivered on what was at the time over 50 suicide prevention networks across the state. I am not sure if that is still the number, but on both sides of the chamber there is a genuine dedication to supporting the existence and the services of the suicide prevention networks. I note in particular the member for Elder's leadership and advocacy as the chair of the Premier's advisory body. I am really proud of the volunteers that I come across who involve themselves with suicide prevention networks, in particular in the Jamestown district, the Mid North Suicide Prevention Network, with significant involvement by a lovely fellow called Greg Boston, who has been recognised through Australian of the Year celebrations in the past.

The Mid North SPN has a particular focus on wellbeing and use parkrun in an exceptional way to encourage those who live in the Jamestown community to open their world, get out of the day-to-day routines that they might be in to come together, but also to do something that really does contribute to their own wellbeing. The Mentally Fit EP suicide prevention network from Eyre Peninsula delivers a mental health conference for suicide prevention volunteers that is the only one in the state. Anyone who comes to this chamber and has a suicide prevention network in their own community, I am sure, is proud of the work that they do.

In conjunction with that, through the former Liberal government was the Liberal initiative to develop and draft nation-leading legislation in the Suicide Prevention Act and we continue to reflect on that important piece of legislation in this house.

I have spent some time referencing Wellbeing SA merely to set some context for what was. That then prefaces what is to come, and that is the government's introduction of this bill that transitions our state wellbeing response from that agency to this Preventive Health SA agency.

For those who were entrenched in the Wellbeing SA agency, I wish to thank those staff: those public servants, health professionals, academics and experts who, from my observation and experience and from the contributions I have sought from those who are working inside the agency, really brought their compassion, their expertise and their best effort in advising the government of the day to establish that agency and to meet the brief, which was to cater for the wellbeing needs of South Australians.

It is a simple and humble gesture that I make to thank those who worked within Wellbeing SA. I know not all have remained in those roles and we will learn more from the government about how the Preventive Health SA agency is going to be established through its workforce under the leadership of the CE.

I anticipate some brief exercises in committee. It is important that we expand on some of the details that have come through this bill, but it is the opposition's intention to support this bill and I welcome the opportunity that the opposition has had through the minister's office for those briefings that have been made available to us.

This is a new agency, it is a bill that will govern that and it is important, I think, that we allow the agency to be stood up so that we can see it delivering on the aspirations it lays out for us in terms of meeting the needs of South Australians, addressing those preventive health elements, and incorporating what was good about Wellbeing SA but understanding that there is some expansion of services now. With those concluding remarks, I support the bill.

Ms THOMPSON (Davenport) (16:37): I, too, rise in support of the Preventive Health SA Bill 2024, legislation that secures the future of an agency worthy of our state's attention. We are fortunate that Australians, and by extension South Australians, live such long and fulfilling lives. Our life expectancy sits among the world's best. That does not happen by accident, and this government's health agenda is evidence of the investment we are prepared to make in the health and care of every South Australian.

In fact, the same can be said of all governments, no matter their persuasion, right across the country. There is no better place to live in the world than Australia because our people and their wellbeing always comes first. But it is also true that prevention is better than any cure. While there are reasonable steps people can take to ensure their own wellbeing, there are also measures government can employ to educate people on the importance of self-care. That is where Preventive Health SA comes in.

Action is required now to see that any future burdens on our health system, be they ill-health or disease, are reduced. Those burdens will not be lost on South Australians, because they are so prevalent now: smoking and vaping, obesity, alcohol and drug abuse, mental health and wellbeing. These all present real risks to individuals, and wherever possible we want to minimise potential and associated harm.

Despite all the evidence, tobacco smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in Australia. While we would hope that interest in smoking products has declined, e-cigarette use among South Australians aged 15 to 29 almost doubled between 2022 and 2023. That is an unacceptable increase in the number of young people choosing to ingest the same toxins used in bug spray and heavy metals like mercury, many of whom will go on to suffer from nicotine addiction and potentially symptoms of nicotine poisoning.

Obesity is a growing concern as well, and again among younger populations. The 2018 National Health Survey found that 25 per cent of all South Australian children and adolescents aged two to 17 were overweight or obese and more recent data suggests that figure is growing. Looking to adults, almost seven in 10 South Australians were overweight or obese as at 2022. On estimate, that is more than 950,000 people.

Perhaps most concerning, though, is the likely impact on children that have not even been born yet. New evidence tells us that if we do not take significant action as a government, those life expectancies I mentioned earlier will reduce as a direct result of obesity and we just cannot let that happen.

Population data analysis commissioned by Preventive Health SA indicates a substantial proportion of South Australia's population is at risk of poor health outcomes due to preventable risk factors and without intervention we can expect the number of people experiencing these risk factors to increase. That is exactly why we need Preventive Health SA, the agency we established earlier this year with a view to addressing each of the concerns I have referenced and much, much more. Importantly, it also signals delivery of another Malinauskas Labor government election commitment.

We know that targeted preventive health action must be delivered, not just to the broader community but to priority population groups as well, with one of the most prominent population groups being Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The burden of disease among Indigenous populations is 2.3 times greater than that of other Australians. Plainly, we must do better here and thankfully we have a body of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people working with us to drive that change.

One year on from the referendum, we are seeing firsthand how recognition of those Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through a Voice can positively impact the direction of our state. You will be pleased to know that the bill we debate today has been strengthened by the feedback of South Australia's Voice, being one of the first pieces of legislation to be considered by the nation-leading representative body.

On that, I would like to acknowledge those hurting one year on from the referendum for constitutional recognition at a federal level. Our democracy is always worth celebrating, but the wounds associated with that campaign were deep and for so many they are yet to heal. I would like to extend my thoughts to those impacted by that event whose lands we meet on today and from myself and so many of my government colleagues I want you to know that it is still yes.

Back to Preventive Health SA and alongside the enforcement efforts of Consumer and Business Services, Preventive Health SA has led the charge on Australian-first laws for tobacco and vaping control. That has helped remove almost $1 million worth of illicit tobacco products from South Australian streets in the last fortnight alone, in an effort shared between Consumer and Business Services and South Australia Police. I implore both agencies, in addition to Preventive Health SA, to maintain those efforts in keeping our streets free of illicit tobacco and illegal vapes.

The Preventive Health SA Bill 2024 is the first of its kind in South Australia, formally recognising preventive health as a key health policy initiative. It demonstrates this Malinauskas Labor government's commitment to embedding systems and structures in legislation for the long term, which, over time, will reduce pressure on the acute health system.

The challenge ahead of us is significant and while we are prepared we cannot do it alone. It is important we acknowledge the work of public health organisations that have so readily supported this government's preventive health agenda, including, but not limited to, the Cancer Council, Diabetes SA, the Heart Foundation, our three major universities, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and so many more.

Thank you to each of those partners for their longstanding commitment to improving health outcomes in South Australia and for their want to build a preventive health system that drives long-lasting change. I look forward to working with each of these organisations well into the future and ensuring the wellbeing of both our growing health network and future generations. I commend this bill to the house.

Mrs PEARCE (King) (16:43): I rise to speak in support of the Preventive Health SA Bill 2024, which marks a pivotal point as we seek to cement the role of prevention within our health system. Across the state we know that, while many South Australians enjoy a good bill of health, we must remain focused on the rising rate of chronic conditions within key population groups and communities that we know are experiencing poorer health.

We know that the leading five preventable risk factors that contribute to the total burden of disease are tobacco use, obesity, dietary risks, high blood pressure and alcohol use. The first of these factors which we must contend with is the fact that 8.7 per cent of South Australians over the age of 15 are smoking despite the great steps that we have taken as a nation to address this harm, such as through health promotions, outlawing tobacco advertisements and our world-leading implementation of plain packaging.

While rates of tobacco use have decreased over time through the success of these preventive health actions, we remain vigilant of the rising use of e-cigarettes at a concerning rate, particularly among our young people aged 15 to 29, having nearly doubled in use from 8.4 per cent in 2022 to 15.1 per cent in 2023. With 8.7 per cent of South Australians smoking currently, we do face a risky prospect as research shows that young people who vape are around five times more likely to take up smoking.

Another factor is that in South Australia we also face some of the highest rates of childhood obesity globally, with 25 per cent of children and adolescents between the ages of two and 17 classified as obese or overweight, as highlighted in the 2018 National Health Survey. More recent data, worryingly, does suggest that this issue is only increasing, with the estimates rising to about 27.5 per cent for this age group. Without proper action, evidence suggests that children being born today will face a shorter life expectancy due to obesity, which speaks to the importance of the moment.

Another alarming preventable risk factor requiring our attention is that around 29.3 per cent of adults are consuming alcohol to levels that are putting them at risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury. Importantly, we cannot neglect the health and wellbeing of priority population groups, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons, and we must ensure that any such targeted preventable health actions are done with collaboration in mind. This is especially important because we know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in particular face a burden of disease that is 2.3 times greater than the general population, and it deserves our utmost attention to help address this gap.

Back to the bill before us, earlier this year we saw the establishment of Preventive Health SA, which has consolidated with a key focus on the prevention agenda, focusing on these risk factors, including obesity prevention, tobacco, vaping, mental health, suicide prevention, alcohol and other drugs and the detriments of health, as a priority area.

Today's bill before us marks a first of its kind here in South Australia with it formally recognising preventive health as an important area of health policy and that it has a permanent home in the infrastructure of our health system in this state. In line with the old adage that prevention is often better than the cure, we are cementing prevention into the structures of our health system so that we can set South Australia up for long-term positive health and wellbeing outcomes that will, over time, also work to reduce the acute pressure that we are witnessing on our health system.

The bill comes to us here in this place having been created in line with the expert advice of the Preventive Health SA Establishment Advisory Council, established with the purpose of drafting this bill. With the Hon. Nicola Roxon as chair of the council, members bring a variety of expertise in epidemiology, public health policy, Aboriginal health, health equity, preventive health strategy, government policymaking and business.

Consultation that was undertaken on the bill received a high level of support across the community for embedding preventive health in legislation. It includes the provision to designate an administrative unit of the Public Service as the Office for Preventive Health SA and establishes statutory functions for the chief executive which cover the breadth of preventive health action, including, for example, commissioning and evaluating preventive health policies, programs and services, making grants, developing partnerships and collaborating to develop policy and actions, leading community education initiatives, monitoring population health and wellbeing data, and providing advice to government and non-government.

The legislation will also set up the Preventive Health SA Council, including members with a diverse range of preventive health knowledge and experience to be able to meet twice a year, playing a key role in providing advice and assistance to the chief executive.

A key provision of this bill in line with the government's commitment to ensuring impartial advice from the independent agency is its prioritisation of the agency's independence. This will enable the agency to lead preventive health actions and offer impartial evidence-informed advice that promotes positive results for the health and wellbeing of South Australians.

Importantly, the bill also contains within it a commitment to work together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities by requiring the chief executive to consult and collaborate with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons and their representative bodies in performing their functions. Such a commitment to collaboration is of course essential as we look to address the gaps which exist between the general population and priority health groups. Interestingly for the house, the bill before us is also one of the first to have been considered by the South Australian Voice to Parliament, who helped to strengthen it through the feedback they provided.

It is important that we ensure that we have the best systems in place to support the health and wellbeing of all South Australians, be it our focus on addressing rising rates of obesity, tackling the increase in vaping among our people or addressing the inequities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities with a strong commitment to collaboration.

We cannot do this alone and it has been through collaboration and the invaluable assistance provided to the government from the health and wellbeing sectors that we have this bill before us today. To be able to help drive the long-lasting positive health and wellbeing change that we wish to see, this bill will go a long way to ensuring a sustainable prevention system is embedded in our greater health infrastructure and allows for the collaboration necessary to achieve our aims. For those reasons, I commend this important bill to the house.

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (16:51): I rise today in support of the Preventive Health SA Bill to provide for the Office of Preventive Health SA and establish the Preventive Health SA Council. In cultures and communities right across the globe, many have long understood the value of prevention over cure. One such quote that is regularly shared comes from Benjamin Franklin, who famously advised fire-threatened Philadelphians that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

I would hope that we could all agree, though maybe we cannot all agree, that climate change mitigation and planning for bushfire seasons are better than fighting more frequent and severe bushfires every year. Our health care is no different. Prevention is better than cure, and as a government not just focused on the now but on the future, we are determined to ensure prevention is a key part of our health system. We can work now to ensure better health outcomes for decades to come—and we are.

While many South Australians experience good health, rates of chronic conditions are increasing. Combined with an ageing population, we have all seen the worst that can happen when a healthcare system cannot keep up with demand. One of the leading preventable risk factors contributing to total burden of disease is tobacco use. Currently 8.7 per cent of South Australians aged 15 years and over smoke. The use and availability of vapes among young people right across Australia is only making this serious public health challenge worse.

In 2022, 8.4 per cent of 15 to 29 year olds were regularly using e-cigarettes or vapes, which almost doubled to 15.1 per cent in 2023. Evidence clearly shows that young people who vape are five times more likely to take up smoking. So I am really proud to be part of a state government which is leading the nation in keeping the sale of illegal vapes and tobacco off our streets, an issue that can impact any community.

In May last year, residents in my electorate received a flyer in their letterbox advertising illegal cigarettes and vapes. After receiving a copy of this flyer, I shared this with SA Police, who investigated the proposed site of sale and seized the illegal products within the week. Earlier this year, our state government introduced the toughest penalties of any state or territory in the nation against the sale of illegal vapes and tobacco, including increasing penalties up to $1.5 million for some breaches and banning vending machine sales of tobacco products in public areas.

As well as smoking, other preventable risk factors include obesity, high blood pressure and alcohol use, with two in three adult South Australians being overweight or obese in 2022 and nearly one in three adult South Australians consuming alcohol that puts them at risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.

Population data analysis and modelling recently commissioned by Preventive Health SA and undertaken by the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute shows that a substantial proportion of the South Australian population is at risk of poor health outcomes due to preventable risk factors. They expect that by 2029, an additional 1,900 children and 48,000 adults will be overweight or obese, almost 25,000 adults will be exceeding alcohol consumption guidelines, nearly 13,000 adults will report high to very high levels of psychological distress and nearly 6,000 adults will report suicidal ideation.

Clearly, we must take comprehensive action to reduce the growing burden of ill health and disease. That is why prior to returning to government the Malinauskas Labor team promised to create a new and independent prevention agency with a mandate to develop evidence-based programs and policies to keep South Australians healthy. Early this year, we kept that promise by establishing Preventive Health SA to strengthen the prevention agenda in South Australia through the consolidation of key prevention functions in a single agency.

As the Premier's Advocate for Suicide Prevention and Chair of the Suicide Prevention Council, I have seen firsthand the work done by Preventive Health SA to support our work and the work of community suicide prevention initiatives. I am very grateful for the excellent staff I have the privilege of working with at Preventive Health through these positions. Your knowledge, expertise and passion are so appreciated.

Preventive Health SA plays a critical role in supporting the implementation of the South Australian Suicide Prevention Plan, which recognises that everyone has a role to play in suicide prevention and provides a framework for prescribed state authorities to develop their own suicide prevention action plans. Preventive Health SA has also been instrumental in helping to establish and support suicide prevention networks right across our state. Suicide prevention networks are central to South Australia's community-focused approach to suicide prevention and are run by incredible volunteers, who are some of the best people you will ever meet.

These networks aim to raise awareness, reduce stigma and foster community connection, education and help-seeking behaviours. Suicide prevention networks play such an important role in enabling communities to build their own capacity to boost mental wellbeing, prevent suicide and develop postvention strategies. I love meeting with and speaking with these networks, who know their communities deeply. Every community is different, and these networks know what works best for their communities to improve connection and resilience.

The Preventive Health SA Bill 2024 formally recognises Preventive Health SA as a cornerstone of health policy in South Australia and enshrines the infrastructure we need for long-lasting, positive change. The Preventive Health SA Council will include experts across areas like epidemiology, preventive health research, health equity, finance, economics and business. It will also ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices remain central to its work.

Similarly to the Suicide Prevention Act 2021, this bill represents a pioneering approach that embeds critical issues into the framework of our health system. By establishing dedicated councils for both suicide prevention and preventive health, we are contributing to sustainable, systematic change that prioritises wellbeing at multiple levels in the community. In legislating measures that tackle tobacco use, vaping, alcohol and other drugs, obesity, healthy eating, physical activity, mental health and suicide, we have the opportunity to improve the health and longevity of all South Australians.

This approach not only reduces the burden on the healthcare system but also promotes equity by targeting the underlying social determinants of health that disproportionately affect lower socio-economic groups. Effective prevention does not just improve individual lives, it strengthens communities. A healthier workforce that is more productive and engaged brings more South Australians together to live happier, more fulfilling lives, and at the same time we generate positive economic outcomes for our state.

The impact of suicide extends far beyond the immediate and ongoing emotional toll on families and communities; it also has significant economic repercussions. A 2024 UK report on the cost of suicide estimated that, when considering various factors such as employment productivity, healthcare costs and emergency services expenses as well as coroner and legal costs, the average cost of a single suicide for someone aged 30 to 34 is around £1.46 million or $A3 million. This figure is likely a conservative estimate and the true economic impact may be even higher. While I wish it was not so, understanding these costs is necessary for some to better appreciate the urgent need for effective mental health interventions and support systems that not only save lives but also protect the wellbeing of our communities and economy.

Enshrining a permanent agency dedicated to preventive health shows we are not just reacting to health issues as they arise but proactively working to create a healthier future for all South Australians. This bill goes beyond health care. It aims to create a system and environment that supports every South Australian to live their healthiest life. Its focus is on reducing long-term healthcare costs, improving the quality of life for disadvantaged communities and ensuring everyone can fully participate in the life and opportunities of our state.

I am proud to be part of a state government that is leading the way in preventive health. With the strength of our community and guidance from expert councils, we can ensure that good health becomes a right for all South Australians, not just a privilege. Together, we can build a healthier, more inclusive state. In closing, I would like to thank one of my favourite people, our Minister for Health and Wellbeing, and everyone in his team for their work in bringing this bill to us.

The Hon. A. Michaels interjecting:

Ms CLANCY: He did not even notice. I look forward to the successful passage of this bill and my continued work with Preventive Health SA and commend this bill to the house.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS (Enfield—Minister for Small and Family Business, Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Minister for Arts) (17:01): I rise also to support the Preventive Health SA Bill 2024. I am a very strong believer in the old adage that prevention is better than cure. We have seen in Western culture a dramatic rise in chronic health conditions which, in turn, is becoming an increasing burden on our health system. The most widespread chronic conditions share common and preventable risk factors, like smoking, poor diet, obesity and excessive alcohol use.

Reducing people's exposure to variable risk factors has a significant impact on reducing the rates of chronic health conditions. It is a simple equation, and I welcome this important legislation to improve the health and wellbeing of South Australians right across the state. I also want to congratulate the Minister for Health on his endeavours in drafting this bill that seeks to:

…lead preventive health action and strengthen collaboration between, and innovation by, government agencies and non-government agencies, including through the provision of expert advice to the Minister and the public sector on policies to be implemented by government…

As the Minister for Small and Family Business, Consumer and Business Affairs and Arts, I would like to commit to strengthening collaborations between departments to achieve the objects of this bill. I am pleased to say that the portfolios of health and consumer and business affairs have been working strongly together already to reduce the risks imposed by smoking and vapes.

We all know tobacco smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in Australia. There are approximately 190,000 current smokers in South Australia and about two out of three of those people, if they do not quit, will die as a result of smoking. Of course, smoking affects every South Australian, whether you are a smoker or you are exposed to smoking. Curbing this habit is everyone's responsibility.

We have come a long way from the times when most people smoked or were exposed to second-hand smoke as a normal part of daily life. In today's community, far fewer South Australians are smoking and we expect public places to be smoke-free. However, in recent years we have seen an alarming trend with the rise in the use of e-cigarettes or vapes. The use of vapes is a growing trend in both South Australia and nationally, particularly amongst children and young people. I am very concerned to read that about 25 per cent of secondary school-aged students have used a vape, with about 15 per cent using one in the past month. That is up from about 2 per cent only a number of years ago in 2017.

This government will not stand by and watch a large proportion of our young people become hooked on the popularity of vaping and the resulting addiction to tobacco and nicotine products. The Malinauskas government has been actively involved in national vaping reforms that started this year. These reforms have led to a ban on the manufacture, sale and supply of non-therapeutic e-cigarette products in Australia.

We have also seen, as has been raised in this place, an alarming trend in the sale of illegal tobacco and vaping products. The sale of illegal tobacco and vape products is becoming increasingly blatant, and we know it provides income for serious and organised crime groups. The Malinauskas Labor government is also cracking down on illicit tobacco and vape products in conjunction with the Albanese Labor government.

New national legislation came into effect on 1 July 2024 to shut down the non-therapeutic retail industry by making the sale and supply of such vapes by retailers unlawful. I emphasise that South Australia remains committed to a national enforcement approach and will continue to work with law enforcement and all jurisdictions to develop and implement the National Vaping Enforcement Framework in order to eliminate unlawful vaping in our community. As the minister responsible for the licensing of retailers of tobacco and e-cigarettes, I am pleased that we are looking to increase fines to be the toughest in our country.

Our government wants to send a clear message that we are serious about cracking down on people selling illegal cigarettes and tobacco. As of 1 July, the Premier has tasked me as minister and my agency, Consumer and Business Services, with enforcing licensing and enforcement activities for the sale of illegal tobacco and vape products in SA. CBS has been ramping up their enforcement, including additional FTEs, to cover everything from licensing applications to consumer inquiries and inspections. Inspectors are now regularly out enforcing compliance and conducting raids. CBS has conducted more than 230 inspections and confiscated over one million cigarettes, over a tonne of pouch tobacco, over 300 kilograms of shisha tobacco and over 15,000 vapes.

Since CBS was tasked with these new compliance and enforcement activities, over $2 million worth of illegal tobacco and vape products have been taken off the street. Currently, CBS has the ability to impose on-the-spot expiation notices of up to $1,200 and, for serious or repeated breaches, penalties range from $10,000 to $50,000, depending on the offence. But more work needs to be done to stamp out this insidious crime, and we are committed to driving this illicit trade out of South Australia.

We need to impose significant penalties to ensure that businesses cannot simply pay fines and continue illegally selling the next day. Some of the new penalties for selling tobacco without a merchant licence include a proposed maximum of $750,000 for the first offence and $1.1 million for the second offence. Selling tobacco to a minor will, if our legislation is passed, result in a penalty of up to $1.5 million. These penalties are significantly higher than the current range of between $20,000 and $40,000.

While CBS has seized significant amounts of illicit products and intends to take appropriate enforcement action, this action takes time, and during the intervening time a shop can just restock and open again to the public. One way of addressing this is for CBS to repeatedly conduct inspections at the same premises, seizing illicit products on each occasion. However, this approach is resource intensive and may lead to increased aggression and therefore increased risk to the safety of our authorised officers.

Instead, there is a bill before the parliament that will enable stores to be issued with interim closure orders. If passed, it will enable me to provide a closure order of up to 72 hours and, on application to the Magistrates Court, a closure of up to six months. These closure orders may be issued to a retail or wholesale premises irrespective of whether they possess a tobacco merchant licence. Our message to dodgy operators is that selling tobacco without a licence or to children will result in substantial financial penalties and shop closures. It is everybody's responsibility to ensure that our children and young people do not take up smoking or vaping or the next harmful trend that this relentless industry tries to introduce.

Through our collaboration with Health and SAPOL, we are supporting South Australian children and young people by ensuring we eliminate the supply chains for illicit tobacco products, vapes and future emerging nicotine products. The Malinauskas Labor government is committed to being at the coalface of tackling the significant public health threat posed by illicit tobacco and vapes and the criminals who sell them. We are moving towards a smoke-free and vape-free future for our young people and we are taking the fight directly to those dodgy sellers, because in South Australia we do not welcome these kinds of businesses. This is just one of the actions we are taking to assist in preventive health measures.

While health and consumer and business affairs has an established collaborative relationship, I am also looking forward to building a similar one between health and arts. It was put by the Director-General of the World Health Organization that the arts can be a powerful ally in our quest to improve health for all.

I asked Arts SA to investigate the exceptional research that has been conducted worldwide, showing the impact on the wellbeing of participating arts, cultural and creative activities, and to engage with our arts and health leaders in South Australia to understand the outcomes of their innovative creative programs. Arts SA is working with the arts and creative sectors, universities and with colleagues across government to embed wellbeing in our new cultural policy.

We already know that our state's arts, cultural and creative sectors are celebrated for their innovation and it is clear that they can and will make an important contribution to preventive health outcomes to ensure a healthier South Australian population. The arts, culture and creative industries and health sectors have significantly grown their connections in primary care, acute and chronic hospital care, rehabilitation, respite care and general wellbeing, utilising therapies from visual arts, music, dance and drama.

Arts can play a significant role in saving future expenditure across health services and social care. In the UK, doctors have a social prescription program, prescribing arts experiences and that has provided an 11:1 return on investment for the health budget and provides, obviously, secure employment for our artists.

On the small business front, we have a number of mental health programs that are available to small business owners throughout South Australia, including one that is being run by the Master Builders Australia, the RISE program, which has seen significant success in recent months.

Prevention is better than cure and this bill will go a long way to assisting preventing serious and chronic health conditions. I look forward to working closely with my friend and colleague, the Minister for Health, to ensure that my agencies are working to assist in delivering these preventive health measures. I commend the bill to the house.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (17:12): This is a very important piece of legislation. We are setting forth legislation which I believe will have an impact on this state for many decades to come. We need to tackle this challenge because we are facing an ageing population, we are facing an increase of chronic disease across our community and we have no other option but to try to tackle that at the source in terms of better preventive health in this state; otherwise, we will see impacts in terms of life expectancy, we will see impacts in terms of people's access to care because that will escalate over coming decades. Prevention is better than cure, as so many members of the parliament have said. I thank all the members who have spoken for their support for this very important piece of legislation.

I would like to acknowledge a number of people who have been involved in the drafting of this legislation in getting us to this point, particularly in Preventive Health SA Marina Bowshall; Lisa Atwell and Georgina Ashworth, but particularly as well the advisory council members chaired by the Hon. Nicola Roxon, Dr Michelle Atchison, Todd Harper, David Pearson, Professor Caroline Miller, Associate Professor Odette Pearson, Kim Morey, Dr Rhiannon Pilkington, Andrew Culley and Dr Alison Edwards, all of whom have helped us to identify the issues, work through them, look at models across the country and have helped us to draft what I think is an excellent piece of legislation to be considered by the house today.

I would also like to thank the many different organisations that have not just issued their support but have been so enthusiastic in their support for this legislation. We had the honour of having a number of them here in the parliament when we introduced the bill a couple of weeks ago. All of those bodies are looking forward to having this enshrined, working with this body for many years to come and hopefully setting the pace and the agenda on a national, if not international, stage in terms of making sure that we have the best possible policy responses to tackling this challenge.

We as a state have been on the front foot for so many policy challenges over our time as a state, since South Australia was first established, that I think that we can take that spirit and that ingenuity and focus it on these challenges into the future. With those comments, I endorse this bill to the house and look forward to the very many prevention activities, policies and changes that will come about through the passage of this legislation.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

In committee.

Clause 1.

Ms PRATT: The short title—a rose by any other name, perhaps minister. The opposition has reflected on the agency, Wellbeing SA, and I note even in government business programs, whether it is preventative or preventive, we arrive here today with a new agency, a new name. My question is: in landing on this bill and this agency that we are now going to be calling Preventive Health SA, what will be the cost to government of changing the name and establishing the agency?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: The advice that I have is that we do not use much letterhead or things like that these days so there has not been cost in that regard, but there was a redesign of the website and that has cost $17,000. There were obviously a number of costs associated with the work that happened with the establishment of the advisory council in terms of sitting fees and travel costs, and that is for members who elected to be remunerated—of which I note the chair was very clear that she did not want to be remunerated for that work—and the total cost for that was $12,000.

Clause passed.

Clauses 2 to 5 passed.

Clause 6.

Ms PRATT: In a similar vein, as we consider the establishment of the Office for Preventive Health, what would be the operating budget of this agency?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: I am advised the operating budget is $32.8 million. Maybe at this point I will just explain some of the movements in terms of the budget that have happened between Wellbeing—

Ms Pratt: Can you just say that figure again, please?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: Yes, $32.8 million. Essentially there have been a number of different movements that have happened to get us to this point. Wellbeing SA was established with a number of functions that were moved from the Department for Health and Wellbeing into Wellbeing SA. Some of these were of a preventive nature, but it also included a number of measures that could be reflected as hospital avoidance or hospital alternative care options as well. One of the key movements and one of the earliest changes that we made was taking that element of that back into the department.

Those elements included all of the contracting that we do in terms of helping people in the community after they have been in hospital, which is an ongoing contract with a number of providers; it includes the Priority Care Centres work as part of that; and also, perhaps notably, My Home Hospital was put as part of Wellbeing SA.

That was part of the model that was designed by the previous minister whereby that would be a funding source for Wellbeing SA to have My Home Hospital and essentially clip the ticket on the way through in terms of activity-based funding and the national efficient price for that, to enable a smaller amount of that money to be able to be spent on My Home Hospital and some of that to be retained in Wellbeing SA.

That has been shifted into the department, and that was a significant movement in terms of the Wellbeing SA budget to the Preventive Health SA budget. You may see differing figures and say, 'That has been a cut to the budget,' but it has actually just been a movement of those functions into the department.

Similarly, the other move that has increased the budget was moving in place the functions that have come from Drug and Alcohol Services SA, particularly where it was the actions and campaigns around smoking cessation and other activities. That has moved into the body and has offset some of the loss in terms of the budget that was taken by moving the integrated care functions back into the department.

Ms PRATT: Is there an FTE breakdown for the agency?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: 103.5 FTE.

The ACTING CHAIR (Mr Odenwalder): I will put clause 6 as printed.

Mr McBRIDE: If I may, and I am certainly not here to cause trouble—

The ACTING CHAIR (Mr Odenwalder): Sure.

Mr McBRIDE: I am just seeking clarity. I have to say thank you to you, minister, and to the staff behind you, around preventive health. I am a big supporter and I obviously had a great briefing on this and was excited by the whole process. All I am looking for is clarity in the questions, particularly with the answer you just talked about with the full-time equivalents of 103.5.

In regard to those full-time employees, it is my understanding that they will be executive leadership-type roles to roll out plans and preventive health-type models that would roll into health care—it could be hospitals, it could be community health, it could be education, it could be healthy eating, those sorts of things.

Could the minister just explain: with those full-time equivalents of 103, are they executive level and will not really be what you would call 'on ground', going out into the community and selling preventive health advocacy—healthy eating, do not smoke, do not use vapes, obesity if it is an issue in the community in certain areas or aspects, those sorts of things? Could you just explain what those 103 full-time equivalents you have just talked about do?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: We might not have time for me to describe what all 103 do, but I certainly can give the member—and I thank him for his support of this initiative—a general outline in terms of the answer to his question. The short answer is, no, they are not executives. When we talk about executives in government that has a certain connotation in terms of a particular salary level. There are some executives as part of that, but certainly we do not have the budget to employ everybody at Preventive Health SA at an executive level. There are a range of different classifications under the public sector enterprise bargaining agreement that would be in place.

The member is correct that we have been having a lot of discussion about community nursing and those sorts of things. These are not people who are out providing direct services to the community. These are people who are predominantly developing policies, who are working with other government agencies who are developing campaigns—for instance, people who will be working on new campaigns to encourage people to stop smoking; people who will be working on our legislation that we will be bringing to the parliament continually on issues such as smoking and obesity and other things.

These are the sorts of policy key questions that will be focused on through the agency, rather than people who are necessarily out in the local health networks doing that frontline clinical work, which of course is very, very important, and that is a key role under the Health Care Act that our healthcare networks have to ensure that they are providing those services. They will obviously work closely with Preventive Health SA in terms of some of that work. We have tried to draw the delineation. This is not about treatment, even at that primary care end of early intervention treatment. This is about getting in ahead of the curve, getting in earlier, to make sure that we do not need that to happen at all.

Ms PRATT: Just following on from the theme of the FTEs, you answered the first question, which was 103.5, and my question was a breakdown. Can you state whether those FTEs are current employees and they are transferring within the system, or what proportion of that would be new recruitment?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: That is the current budget that we have for 2024-25. Obviously, this is a body that we are seeking to legislate, but it is operating at the moment as an attached office, so it has an existing budget already and 103.5 is the existing budget at the moment.

Mr McBRIDE: Thank you, minister, for the previous two answers. Just in regard to those 103 full-time equivalents with this $32.8 million budget and all about what preventive health is meant to mean in that sphere, could the minister inform the house what sort of other expenditure might be required if, for example, this preventive health goes down to the Life. Be in it-type campaigns? We used to have Norm, the fat fellow watching TV too much and we want people to be more into sport and obviously being active and perhaps getting children off their iPads and out of their phones.

I think the $32 million probably really covers off the office and staff and paying salaries, but it would not probably cover off on TV commercials or an education policy around healthy eating and what the canteen should be stocking in the foods. These are the sorts of things that have been talked about and I am just wondering: does the minister have any foresight around what sort of additional funds will be needed to actually make preventive health and this whole new sector of health actually function?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: The budget absolutely covers those things as well; that is clearly what this agency is there to do. In the allocation of its budget, between staff and campaigns and activities, there has to be a clear assessment and judgement made in terms of what is the best use of every dollar. One dollar that we spend on a staff member is not one dollar that we can put on an ad campaign in terms of promoting stopping smoking or vaping or obesity, such as Norm and Life. Be in it, as you say. We want to see, to be honest, more hard-hitting and punchy advertisements than we have seen to date. We have had previously, through Wellbeing SA, the walking campaign. We are looking to be a bit more hard-edged in terms of what we do in relation to obesity prevention in the future, and picking up some of the best evidence that we can from around the country and around the world in terms of what appears to be working.

That budget of $32 million is certainly not all on staff. For instance, I think $9 million is in terms of grants funding. There are a number of different grants that Preventive Health SA runs for community organisations, and no doubt the member will be familiar with perhaps some organisations in the electorate of MacKillop that might have been recipients of suicide prevention grants, grants that we have been running at the moment for defibrillator access in the community, and a range of other different grants that we will offer will be part of it.

So you have campaigns, you have grants, you have staff working with people across government, working with leading health experts developing laws and policies for the government and also working with a range of different community organisations, whether that be people in the non-government space or councils or a whole range of different organisations.

Clause passed.

Clause 7.

Ms PRATT: Minister, the question I have is about the operating budget for the chief executive and if that is different to your answer that you gave about the operating budget of the agency being $32.8 million. What is the operating budget for the chief executive, and how many staff are allocated?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: I am advised that it is the same.

Mr McBRIDE: I want to talk about success here, and I hope that the minister is on the same page as me. Obviously it is the chief executive but I suppose I am really talking about functions and what this new Preventive Health can mean. One of the things that I did not get a clear explanation of in my briefing—I am sorry, I am not having a go about my briefing either, but one of the things I want to be able to do is to back this and support this, and I want Preventive Health and this new mechanism that you are implementing here to work.

One of the things that I struggle to identify is how you are going to measure success. How will you know that when you spend your $32.8 million budget that you should not take it out to $100 million because you have $500 million worth of success if you manage to have some real changes in life, and over the health $9 billion budget that I know you have to deal with for South Australia?

In regard to a function of the success of the chief executive and the whole idea here and the staff, how will the success be measured and how will you know not to either increase the budget or to say, 'We need to change tack here because what we intended is not working'?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: That is a very good question from the member for MacKillop and I think you have hit the nail on the head in terms of the challenge of prevention. It is hard to define that success. It is hard to get a quick win where you say that by next year we will have reduced the number of overweight South Australians by half. That is not going to happen. It is long timeframes with this work, and that is unfortunately why it becomes an easy thing to not prioritise. We are all politicians and we are on four-yearly cycles, and this work is decades in the making.

However, you can go back and look at where there have been public health and prevention successes over time and the biggest and foremost is in terms of smoking. Incremental work over time has got us to a point where we have significantly reduced the smoking rate in this state and around the country and around large parts of the Western world at least. None of it is quick and none of it can be within a short four-year timeframe.

What you can do is measure individual elements of that and how they are contributing to the whole. Certainly as part of each campaign that will be run there has to be an evaluation done of that. There has to be work done to make sure that it is as effective as it possibly can be, and there are measures that public health researchers and public health experts can use to determine whether or not it has had an impact.

However, the bigger question is obviously over a much longer timeframe, and part of the work of Preventive Health SA will have to be monitoring and providing that information in terms of how we are going against some of these bigger questions, such as obesity, smoking, mental health and wellbeing—a whole range of these issues—to make sure that we are on track.

Mr McBRIDE: The answer is actually what I was looking for and I thank the minister for that. The next part of my question is a concern I raised in my briefing, which is that, if you look at the chief executive and the functions, clause 7(1)(f) says:

to monitor and report on investment and expenditure on preventive health measures...

It is almost like the chief executive is going to be evaluating potentially his own success or failings which, if he is like any other chief executive that work in the government, I do not think he will really want to rock into your office, minister, and say, 'I've done a terrible job. I'm failing in my role and this is a waste of $32 million.' That would be the first time I have ever seen a public servant come in and admit that.

How do we make sure that, when we report on this new Preventive Health, it lacks any sort of conflict, that it has been assessed and that it has been given a sort of oversight? As I said, I want it to work. It could be assessed by some sort of group, industry, sector or something that is not connected in any shape or fashion that can lead to either a change in direction or better outcomes to make sure your $32 million is being spent wisely and whether it should be taken out to $60 million because the benefits are there to be grabbed.

It is almost like you have got started but you have not; you have almost starved it by perhaps being diligent and saying, 'Let's just dip our toe into the water first,' but this is something that is gathering pace and saving $500 million, for example, with a $60 million investment in preventive health that might be five years down the track. One of the things I see in the functions of the chief executive is it is almost like this self-reporting type of process and, for all intents and purposes, that worries me.

I wonder whether we should have some sort of anonymous type of process here that would be a strong advocate for either giving you some bad news for some change in direction or actually giving you good news and you should be investing further.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: I am pleased to refer the member to clause 16, which outlines the functions of the council, and the council will have an important role in the legislation in looking at the performance of a number of these things. It will have expert people on it and they will look at the performance in terms of how progress is going against the strategic plan, looking at emerging data and research. It will also meet with the minister and will report on the performance of the chief executive. I hope that gives you some comfort in that it is not just a self-assessment.

Clause passed.

Clauses 8 to 11 passed.

Clause 12.

Ms PRATT: Minister, your office may also have received this feedback from members in the community asking detailed questions about the establishment of the advisory council. There were some concerns raised about the absence of an applicant who has a background in clinical translation and implementation. To be fair, I have raised this with parliamentary counsel as well. I am interested to know how the chief executive would navigate someone bringing that skill set, benchmarked against the criteria as they currently are, so a background in clinical and implementation.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: In terms of subclause (3), my reading of this is that they are things that need to be covered off but they are not exhaustive in terms of the areas in which we would need to have covered in terms of the council. It may well be that the area that the member has identified in terms of translation clinically, or any other range of skills, would be considered in addition to those skills. I guess those are the minimum areas that need to be covered by the membership of the council.

It is certainly my opinion that it would be hard to imagine that you would be able to cover off all of those things without having somebody that would have an understanding in terms of clinical translation as part of it. While this is not a body that is delivering clinical services, I think that having somebody on there with clinical expertise would be necessary in terms of meeting those objectives in relation to a number of those subparagraphs in place, whether it is (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e). There certainly would be a number of clinicians, people who know about clinical translation, who would also meet those criteria under subclause (3).

Mr McBRIDE: I think in general, minister, in regard to the nomination/collection of this council and its criteria, it does cover a very broad base and it does leave the opportunity wide open for you. One of the things I did bring up in my briefing was that one of the things that it seems to be missing is that there is, for example, no-one from the education department on this council. I know you could do this, and I know that you could get someone from the education department. You might say to me, 'Why would you do that?' If you are going to try to change behaviour around the classroom for teenagers under the age of 18, it is the school system that really looks after these students more than any other body at any other time during their lives.

I would have thought that if you wanted to address anything to do with children, so they could live healthier from their first day in life to 18 years of age, you would work through the education system. It is potentially one of those feedback matters, who to have on your council. What I said in the briefing—and I had a really great opportunity in the briefing to talk with a couple of your departmental staff in this area—is one thing we know is that our teachers are already battling to be a teacher, yet they have to worry about breakfast, about whether the students are turning up, about their home life, whether the children are on their phones, whether the phones are in the school or not, whether they are allowed to bring the phone along, whether the children are behaving, whether they are learning what they are supposed to be learning. Then Preventive Health could come along and say, 'Well, you should be making sure they are eating a healthy lunch as well.'

My point here is that if you do not have grassroots-type representation, knowing what the battles are for a teacher, for example, where we are trying to look at a student group, for example, from age zero to 18, then this council does not clearly say you should have someone from the education department. I am hoping it leaves it wide enough open to you, minister, that you do not have to make up the council from just the health sector because that would be a travesty of justice in this whole process working well.

The next sector I would ask the minister to consider, which I again raised in the briefing, is there is no-one from the police force in this either, or that demographic of emergency services. It could be a paramedic, it could be an ambulance operator or so forth. Why would you do that? Let me tell you. Police are actually trying to mop up our society problems and maintain law and order.

We have a policeman in Naracoorte who has been given an award for being a magnificent policeman because he is specialising in domestic violence, and he did a terrific job. We have mental health and stress out there in society, and police are trying to help navigate and look after innocent people, let alone the people who are causing the problems. I think that your council would be stronger if it was diverse in its range of advocacy and diverse in its range of experience and not just about the health system, which sometimes tries to bandaid—this is not a bandaid, this is preventive. This is before we put the bandaid on.

That is why I think your council really deserves the broadest range of representation you can find and all true to your meaning in this government here. I can see that Indigenous is getting a strong representation here, but you are not getting representation from those who are having to deal with some of the biggest consequences when our society breaks down and things go badly.

The question to you is: is your council that you have a selection from here going to be broad enough in its range of selection, and can you give any sort of assurance that you will cover off things like education and the emergency services type area?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: I will just be clear from the outset. We are not going to have a representation body that is the council. There is not somebody whose job it is to say, 'I am representing the police and I am going to take the police force's view on this body.' This is a skills-based organisation. People will be bringing different skills, not representing a particular organisation.

Having said that, the member is absolutely right that the whole of this organisation's job is not just about the health system. This is why we have divorced this from the Department for Health. This has to be reaching into all the areas of government, but also areas outside of government as well, working with education, working with the police, working with planners, working with every area of government.

We need people on this council who are skilled in a number of different areas, who bring different perspectives to the table, but they will not necessarily all be representing all the various elements, because that would be impossible. We will end up with a council of 50 people if we do that. The idea is to reach in and connect.

The short answer is I think we do have broad enough scope in terms of the way that this is drafted to be able to include people who have experience in different sectors on the council, but irrespective of that it is the organisation's job—what we call health in all policies—to be able to go and connect with the various different parts of government and ensure that there are programs in place in schools to make sure that we can address the health of our young people, which is clearly a critical area of preventive health policy.

Clause passed.

Clauses 13 and 14 passed.

Clause 15.

Ms PRATT: Remuneration: I am just interested to know what would be the threshold for remuneration and allowances being paid, and what is the budget.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: As I understand it, for all of our various boards and committees across government the process is that there is a policy in place across government and there will be a Premier's Circular—I am sure someone will know the number—that sets that there is a determination made by the Chief Executive of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet as to what the remuneration would be for that. We do not specify it in the legislation.

Following passage and establishment of this act, hopefully there would be a minute that would go to the chief executive, Mr Damien Walker, and there would be an assessment done across government of boards and committees. They would make a determination as to what remuneration would be in place for this, and that would have to be allocated as appropriate from the existing budget.

Clause passed.

Clause 16.

Mr McBRIDE: This is one of the things I have probably failed to say—and this is actually to support what you are doing here, because I actually do believe in your preventive health process here. One of the things that I am fearing—and this is what I said in the brief and actually forgot—is that your intention as a minister I have to say I support. I hope it does work. One of the things I did say is that you are not always the minister and you are not always the government. What other ministers can do to this, or what other governments can do to this, is it can be erased, it can be evaporated. How does it stand the test of time? That is what I actually said in my briefing.

No-one really understood how we would actually lock that down or make sure that it was not just a Johnny-come-lately sort of system that lasted four, five, six or 10 years, for the term of your ministry or this government, for example—even though you might have a longer tenure in your job, or the whole government may.

One of the things I want to strongly advocate for, to make sure that success is more likely your outcome here, is about the way that this council is going to function and who they report to. Let's just say that it is about making sure they are doing everything they can for the $32.8 million you are spending to help save however much of the $9 billion health budget that could be saved. Interestingly enough, I just picked up on this point here in clause 16 that the council has to advise the chief executive and the chief executive has to advise the minister, but in clause 16(1)(f) it says:

(f) to give advice to the Minister for the purposes of section 6(2)…

If you go and look that up, that actually means you are reporting to the Premier, as far as I can see, and you will correct me if I have got this wrong.

Minister, can you inform me in regard to the council—who I think, ultimately, are going to be the voice of what is going on and how they are going to do it and obviously, from what I am seeing, report on the successes or failures—how we can have surety that we have not just created a body here for the sake of employing people to sit back in chairs and say, 'We're doing a great job. I'm going to tell the minister what he doesn't really know anyway, that everything's going well. I love his $32.8 million and we're having a real wow of a time'?

For all the cynicism, what I am trying to say is that I am worried that you do not have any sorts of processes in place to ensure that you cannot have the wool pulled over your eyes, and I do not want that to happen. I want the authorities, the people who belong to this, to be passionate. I want them to be honest. I do not want them to be like what I have to say is seen by the people of South Australia as typical Public Service, just doing what they want. I am asking you, minister: what sureties do we have? Even though you have a reporting mechanism through this chief executive coming back to you and coming back to the Premier, as I said, if they tell you lies and porkies and not the real truth and pull the wool over your eyes, what surety do we have that we are not just wasting the $32.8 million?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: Thank you to the member for MacKillop. I thank him for his support of the legislation. I agree with him: we need this to be a body that lasts the test of time. That is why we are seeking to legislate. I think that is one of the key reasons why it will help; it is very hard to pull back legislation. Another precondition is that we appreciate that there is bipartisan support for this matter as well. I think that is a key element.

But, clearly, for the organisation to last the test of time, it is going to need to be successful in the eyes of government, opposition, the parliament and also the public. That will be a test in terms of making sure it gets the runs on the board so that a future minister, a future government, a future parliament does not seek to wind this back. Just having this legislation in place does not automatically mean that it is going to be a success. There has to be a lot of hard work to ensure that it is going to be a success.

I do not share the concerns the member has that the council is going to pull the wool over the minister's eyes on a whole range of matters. I think that there are a number of integrity elements of our laws and integrity bodies that would ensure that that is not the case. I am confident that this is one of the things that is going to help us. There is also the fact that, in terms of drafting this, I did not just go to parliamentary counsel and say, 'Can you whip us up a bill?' We brought together a range of different experts, we set them the task of coming up with the best piece of legislation that they could, we publicly consulted on that, and then we brought it to the parliament. I think that shows that this has been a robust process to get to this point and not some sort of bureaucratic process that I think the member is fearing that it is.

Mr McBRIDE: This is the last one on this point, and I do not think I have many more after this because I do like what the minister is trying to achieve here. Minister, one of the things we have seen and we have advocated for to your government is that the sports vouchers, for example, be extended beyond 14 years of age. In clause 16(2)(a), (b) and (c)—mainly clause 16(2)—in the last sentence it talks about 'health policy and action and the allocation of sufficient funding and other resources'.

The old 1980s Life. Be in it. program had Norm in front of his TV. One of the things we are now seeing is our young population spending way too much time in front of computers and phones. If this committee, this function of preventive health, says, 'We are losing too many 14 year olds and older from participation in sport, and we think that the sporting vouchers should be rolled out to 18 year olds,' is that the sort of role that you can see that this preventive health could be advocating for?

Let's just say that all the members in this house—I do not care whether they are Labor, Liberal, a crossbencher or an Independent—said, 'Yes, this sporting voucher process really does keep children in sport with the cost of living. It stops at the moment at 14.' Let's just say it is costing you $100 million, but if it cost the government another $50 million to capture the 14 to 18 year olds to keep students in sport, is this the sort of role you think preventive health will or could play, and is that what it means in the last sentence in clause 16(2) when it says 'policy and action and the allocation of sufficient funding and other resources' for preventive health across the state, with the examples in (a), (b) and (c)?

The ACTING CHAIR (Mr Odenwalder): Before you answer, minister, I apologise to you, member for MacKillop, and to the minister, but I am going to need to ask you to report progress please, unless you can answer it in 30 seconds.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: We are very close I think. Essentially, the short answer is yes. Obviously, we want this organisation to work across government and to be involved in a whole range of policy matters, not just this specific one, where there are preventive health issues in other departments.

Clause passed.

Remaining clauses (17 to 21), schedule and title passed.

Bill reported without amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (17:57): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

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