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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-27 Daily Xml
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MOUNT GAMBIER HOSPITAL HYDROTHERAPY POOL FUND BILL

Introduction and First Reading

Received from the House of Assembly and read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Gambling, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (17:38): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

The Mount Gambier Hospital Hydrotherapy Pool Fund Bill 2008 before the House addresses a matter that has been of considerable concern to the community of Mount Gambier for some time.

In 2000 the then board of the Mount Gambier and Districts Health Service Incorporated established the Mount Gambier Hospital Hydrotherapy Pool Fund to support the building of a hydrotherapy pool at the Mount Gambier Hospital. At that time it was anticipated that approximately $1 million would be required for the construction of the facility.

During that time donations were made by local community members and organisations and by June 2003, $270,769 had been raised. However this sum was well short of the money required to build such a pool and the proposal was abandoned.

Mount Gambier Hospital is an institution listed in Schedule 2 of the Public Charities Funds Act 1935 and, by virtue of section 11 of the Act, all donations to the Mount Gambier Hospital vest immediately in the Commissioners of Charitable Funds. As such, the monies of the fund for the proposed hydrotherapy pool are held under a charitable trust administered by the Commissioners.

Since the abandonment of the proposal for the pool, there has been considerable community concern to have donations returned where requested and for the balance of funds to be used for an alternate purpose.

Under the Public Charities Funds Act the donated funds are properly held by the Commissioners of Charitable Funds and the Commissioners are required to apply the donated funds to the general purposes of the Mount Gambier hospital. Donations cannot therefore not be returned.

Other provisions of the Public Charities Funds Act limit the Commissioners to spending the earnings derived from the investment of the trust, but not the capital of the trust itself. These provisions mean that the whole of the funds held in trust cannot be used for another purpose, only the earnings on that trust. These earnings would not be sufficient to enable the development of an appropriate alternate purpose.

The Government was advised that legislation would be necessary to enable the return of donations and the utilisation of the funds held.

The Mount Gambier Hospital Hydrotherapy Pool Fund Bill 2008 before the House transfers the money held by the Commissioners of Charitable Funds to Country Health SA Hospital Incorporated. It requires Country Health SA Hospital to offer to return donations plus interest earned on the donations and to develop a proposal for the use of the balance of the funds for an alternate purpose.

In developing the alternate proposal Country Health SA Hospital must consult with the Mount Gambier and Districts Advisory Council.

The Bill requires the Mount Gambier and Districts Health Advisory Council to consult with the community on the proposal developed and advise Country Health SA Hospital of the outcomes.

Before Country Health SA Hospital can act on the proposal it must be reasonably satisfied that the proposal is acceptable to the community.

Country Health SA Hospital must also consult with the Mount Gambier and Districts Health Advisory Council when developing its policy for the calculating the interest on the donations to be returned.

Once a proposal is approved by Country Health SA Hospital, it must place advertisements in the local newspapers and in a newspaper having circulation on a statewide basis offering the return of donations plus interest and outlining the alternate proposal so that people can be informed of the purpose of their donation should they elect not to have it returned to them. Those seeking the return of their donation must of course be able to verify the amount they donated to the hydrotherapy pool fund.

The Bill ensures that a proposal that Country Health SA Hospital may approve has the support of the community in and around Mount Gambier and that it cannot approve any proposal unless it is satisfied that the proposal is acceptable to the community. It also provides for transparency in the process for returning donations and confidence that community views on this matter are considered.

The Mount Gambier Hospital Hydrotherapy Pool Fund Bill 2008 will enable this matter to be resolved.

I commend the Bill to Members.

Explanation of Clauses

1—Short title

2—Commencement

These clauses are formal.

3—Interpretation

This clause defines terms used in the measure.

4—Transfer of funds

This clause provides that the Fund held by the Commissioners of Charitable Funds for the purpose of building a hydrotherapy pool at the Mount Gambier Hospital is transferred to Country Health SA.

Country Health SA holds the Fund on trust for 2 purposes:

to return donations and interest to donors in accordance with the measure; and

to apply the remainder of the Fund in accordance with a proposal developed under the measure.

5—Proposal for use of funds

This clause requires Country Health SA to develop a proposal for the application, at the Mount Gambier Hospital, of that part of the Fund that is not returned to donors in accordance with the measure.

In developing the proposal, Country Health SA must consult with the Mount Gambier and Districts Health Advisory Council, which in turn must consult the local community and make submissions concerning the proposal to Country Health SA following such consultation.

6—Procedures for advertising proposal and return of funds

This clause makes provision for procedural requirements relating to advertising the proposal developed in accordance with the measure and return of funds to donors.

7—Return of donations

This clause provides for the return of donations together with an amount determined as interest on the donations to donors who request the return of a donation.

8—Application of remainder and winding up of trust

This clause provides for any part of the Fund not returned to donors in accordance with the measure to be applied in accordance with the proposal developed under clause 5.

This clause also revokes the trust established by the measure once all monies have been applied in accordance with the measure.

9—Expiry of Act

This clause provides for the expiry of the Act.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. T.J. Stephens.

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