Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-02-18 Daily Xml

Contents

BREASTSCREEN SA

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER (15:22): I seek leave to make an explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women and the minister representing the Minister for Health a question about BreastScreen SA.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER: It is well known that the health of rural women lags considerably behind that of their city-dwelling counterparts, largely because they do not have access to the same number of tests and screenings that are readily available to city women. The 2008-09 Department of Health budget allocated $2.5 million for the replacement of two country mobile units for breast screening. All of that money is to be expended this financial year.

It is estimated that 50,000 women in the target age group between 50 and 69 years are screened by mobile breast screening units. Given that we are now eight months into the financial year, can the minister inform the council whether those units have been replaced and whether they are being used at this moment and, if not, why not?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy) (15:23): I will refer the honourable member's question to the Minister for Health in another place and bring back a response.