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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-03-25 Daily Xml
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Queen Elizabeth Hospital

The Hon. S.G. WADE (15:29): Mr Acting President, I rise to fulfil an undertaking I gave to a community meeting last night. The meeting was convened by Kevin Hamilton OAM (former state Labor member for Albert Park) and his wife, Maureen Hamilton OAM, and was held at the Semaphore Port Adelaide RSL. I was asked by the meeting to convey their views to the parliament, which I am privileged to do. Mr Rod Sawford, the former federal Labor member for Port Adelaide, chaired the meeting of more than 100 people opposed to the Weatherill Labor government's downgrading of The Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Presentations were made by Dr David Pope and Ms Bernadette Mulholland from the South Australian Salaried Medical Officers Association. The SASMOA representatives made it very clear that health professionals have been marginalised by the Transforming Health process and that few SASMOA members support the Transforming Health proposals. They were incredulous of government claims that 95 per cent of clinicians support the proposals. The Hon. Robert Brokenshire, Ms Vickie Chapman and a number of local government councillors attended the meeting, and messages of support were received from a number of leaders, including one from the Hon. Kelly Vincent, which I read in part:

It has been increasingly clear to me, through my conversations with many professionals in the health sector as well as community organisations and individuals, that the data being used to support Transforming Health is grossly misleading and the consultation process has been rushed and narrow. To create a health system that genuinely meets the needs of South Australians, the government must have a mature and honest discussion with South Australians about all of the options rather than putting Transforming Health forward as a fait accompli.

Former Labor and Independent Labor members of parliament Murray De Laine and Norm Peterson also sent messages of support, and former deputy premier Ralph Clarke attended the meeting. The key concerns that were aired by community members related to the downgrading of the emergency department at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the increased travelling time for people in an emergency, and the capacity for the new super sites to accommodate the increasing caseload.

The meeting passed four resolutions: one calling for the full restoration of The Queen Elizabeth Hospital emergency department; one calling for the Repatriation General Hospital to remain open; another calling on the Mayor of Charles Sturt to withdraw her support for Transforming Health and to call a public meeting; and the fourth was condemning Transforming Health in its entirety. At the meeting, I was presented with yet more petitions, which I have with me today: 503 petitioners called for the maintenance of existing services at Noarlunga and the Repat; 20 opposed the closure of the Repat; and 244 opposed changes to The Queen Elizabeth Hospital emergency department.

I was also provided with copies of two letters to the Minister for Health, one from a resident of North Haven and one from a resident of Peterhead. Both letters emphasised that, during near-fatal emergencies, medical staff had indicated that, had the patient needed to travel to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, it is more than likely that they would not have survived. A recurring theme in correspondence and at community meetings has been the anger of residents of the western suburbs at being marginalised and treated as unimportant by the government and the Labor Party.

This was the second community meeting in relation to The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and at neither meeting have any current serving Labor MPs attended. On radio this morning, the minister's explanation for their absence was that, when he sent a public servant to the first meeting, they were howled down. I was at that meeting, and Professor Keefe's first response to a question was indeed howled down, but the immediate and strong response of the chair and the meeting itself was to insist that Professor Keefe be heard in silence. Professor Keefe was able to answer a series of questions at length, and my clear recollection is that, in toto, she had more time to answer questions than any other contributor.

Labor members also snubbed a public meeting convened by the Mayor of Onkaparinga in February. Not only did not one Labor MP turn up but also, coincidentally, SA Health organised a community event at the same time as the community meeting. This government is so arrogant and out of touch with its communities that it will bombard the western suburbs with DL cards, fact sheets, television and radio ads and social media but will not engage their communities in communication that does not cost the taxpayer a cent, that is, public meetings. The meeting last night reiterated the general community feeling that the Snelling health plan is ill-conceived and dangerous. In closing, I thank the Hamiltons for their hard work in organising the meeting and giving the community a voice.

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