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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-11-28 Daily Xml
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Bills

Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South Australia) (Remote Area Attendance) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 19 October 2017.)

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (15:34): I would like to thank all members for their contribution on this important legislation and look forward to dealing with it in the committee stage. I would like to thank members in the council for their support of this legislation. I hope for the Woodford family, who are present in the chamber today, that the parliament has heard their pleas, and what happened to their beloved wife and mother and dedicated nurse does not happen to anybody else. The safety of any health practitioner performing their duties is of paramount importance but none more so than the health practitioners working in the remote areas of South Australia.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: We have three speakers on this.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: I have been asked by the President to make a few words, so if I can complete my speech.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: No, you can't. You have already had a go at it.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: Mr President, may I continue?

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: You are summing the thing up. It will mean there will be no debate on it.

The PRESIDENT: By speaking, you are winding up the debate.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: That is what I was asked to do, Mr President.

The PRESIDENT: Can you come up here for one second, minister, please. Minister.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: Thanks, Mr President. The safety of any health practitioner performing their duties is of paramount importance but none more so than health practitioners working in the remote areas of our community and our vast state. Of course, remote areas are not inherently dangerous but the isolation coupled with societal problems, such as drug and alcohol abuse, expose these practitioners to greater risk than those working in other areas. A Northern Territory report found that many remote area nurses accepted abuse and violence as part of working in these isolated communities. Those who could not cope opted to leave rather than put up with it.

But, today, this parliament has the opportunity to ensure that the safety of health practitioners working in the remote areas of South Australia is paramount. These practitioners dedicate their lives to helping others, but it is important that we also protect their lives. Before this chamber considers this bill, I would like to thank a number of people, principally the Woodford family—husband Keith, daughter Alison and son Gary—for their tireless efforts since their loss to have governments implement Gayle's Law. I would also like to express gratitude to organisations including the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, CRANAplus, and also the Aboriginal Health Council and the APY Aboriginal communities for their support for the government in bringing this legislation to parliament.

Other MPs deserve a lot of credit as well, and I would like to acknowledge Ms Annabel Digance, member for Elder. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all their efforts, and also thank the officers who assisted in the development of this legislation, including parliamentary counsel and staff from the Department for Health and Ageing, who are also present here in the chamber today.

It takes a particular degree of courage, a great source of strength, to be able to pick oneself up after such a devastating incident as what was imposed upon the Woodford family, and then to take that and turn it into an opportunity to protect so many other South Australians into the future. There are often moments of tragedy in our society, but rarely do they translate into a suite of legislative reform that will protect so many people for so many years to come.

This is the parliament working at its best, all politicians from all sides coming together to turn what is otherwise a tragic incident into a positive reform for so many people who serve our community in such a brave and courageous way. I would like to acknowledge those family members again, and look forward to continuing the discussion in the committee stage of the bill.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

In committee.

Clause 1.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I rise on behalf of the parliamentary Liberal Party to indicate our support for the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South Australia) (Remote Area Attendance) Amendment Bill 2017. As the minister has indicated, the impetus for this bill was a terrible tragedy, the murder of Gayle Woodford, a beloved nurse, wife and mother.

Gayle had taken on a challenging role as a remote area nurse in one of the most isolated areas of this state. On 23 March Mrs Gayle Woodford responded to a late-night emergency call. A 35-year-old man lured her from her home before abducting her, murdering her and burying her body in a shallow scrubland grave near Fregon in the APY lands.

Tributes to Mrs Woodford have flowed from far and wide: from her local community, from the nursing profession, from the wider public and, last month, from the House of Assembly. The strong image that has emerged is that of both an outstanding person and an outstanding health professional. Her death is a devastating loss. The injury of this crime is felt most keenly and painfully by members of Gayle's family, and our heartfelt sympathy goes to each of them. We thank them for honouring us with their presence today.

This parliament is determined to do what it can to prevent such crimes happening again. As Associate Professor Dabars of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation put it:

Outback remote nurses, regardless of where they are working, are vulnerable and their safety has to be a priority so they can carry out their work with confidence and support their communities to the very best of their ability.

Nurses and other health professionals cannot give their full attention to delivering care if they need to have one eye over their shoulder looking out for their personal safety. The bill before us today is a demonstration of this parliament's shared commitment to the safety of our health professionals.

Let me highlight some key points. The bill requires health practitioners in remote areas to be accompanied by a second person when responding to after-hours or emergency call-outs. The presence of a second person should reduce the risk of a personal attack. Second responders may, for example, be local community members, other staff members or staff from another government agency. If a health practitioner is unable to find a second responder and refuses to attend an emergency call-out, he or she cannot be held to have breached a code of professional ethics or to have behaved unprofessionally.

For this model to work, we need to ensure that we recruit and maintain a network of second responders throughout the remote areas. When called for an after-hours or unscheduled emergency call, health practitioners will need to assess the risk involved in the situation, deciding whether their service needs to be provided immediately or whether it can be provided during normal hours. If deemed to be an emergency, the practitioner will rendezvous with a second responder at an agreed location to accompany him or her to the site of the emergency. The second responder will remain with them until the call-out is finished.

The Liberal team will be supporting both the bill and the amendment to it proposed by the Hon. Tammy Franks. A review gives the parliament the opportunity to be assured that the bill is having the desired outcome in terms of protecting health professionals. Further, it may highlight opportunities to finetune the model.

In that context, I highlight the issues raised by the Australian Medical Association that the act should not put health professionals in conflict with their code of ethics and legal obligations. The AMA acknowledges that the impact could be modified by regulation. Indeed, the regulations will be crucial to the effective operation of this act. Parliament will have the opportunity to consider the regulations and to ensure that they do not infringe on ethical and legal duties of health professionals.

In conclusion, I reiterate the support of the Liberal opposition. Health practitioners are men and women who save our lives. To do so, they should not have to risk their own.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: On behalf of the Greens, I rise to support the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South Australia) (Remote Area Attendance) Amendment Bill, commonly known as Gayle's Law. I acknowledge the presence of not only Gayle's family in the gallery today but indeed the member for Elder, Annabel Digance, and I acknowledge her work on this. This has certainly been something that I think has affected not just those in the medical profession and those in the APY lands but indeed people across South Australia and Australia. With that, we strongly support action taken to take care of our first responders and to ensure their safety.

I note that this bill will cover after-hours attendance. That is not just night-times but also weekends and public holidays. I am informed that the bill will not have financial implications. I have some concerns that the bill will have financial implications and that those need to be addressed, should they arise.

I have met with members of the Fregon community and I have seen Gayle's memorial that they have erected there just outside the community. I have spoken to those members of the community and my concerns are also that we have to guarantee the safety of all people within the remote areas of this state.

The man who murdered Gayle should potentially not have been in that community in the first place, and the community should have been able to have had the safety and protection of him not being there. That is why I have moved an amendment to ensure a review of this law between two and three years of its operation to ensure that it is being implemented to have the effect to protect those first responders, to ensure that unforeseen implications have not arisen, to ensure that health professionals, should they choose to avail themselves of this law, or should they choose not to, are not being punished for offering assistance outside the scope of Gayle's Law. Should a medical professional decide to actually help somebody, I do not want them coming up and facing punitive measures.

For those reasons and with those few short words, I commend the government for taking leadership on this. I say the job is not over with this bill. We need to keep working to ensure not just the safety of the medical professionals and the first responders but indeed all in these communities.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: The Dignity Party of course supports this bill that allows for health practitioners working in remote areas of South Australia to be accompanied by a second responder so as to hopefully put them at less risk. I would also like to add my condolences to the family of Ms Woodford, her friends and colleagues and thank them for joining us here today and honouring us with their presence.

All workers have the right to come home at the end of a shift, wherever they work and whatever they do, and all family members have the right to expect that their loved ones will return safely. To think that that is not always the case is awful, but to know that someone has been deliberately and brutally attacked and murdered in the normal course of their duty is abominable. To further contemplate that the role of a health practitioner is to assist people in need and that it was in that role where that help was taken advantage of and that Gayle lost her life as a result is tragic. I only use these words because I struggle to find any other that actually measure up to what this is.

I understand that provisions similar to these in this bill have come into effect through policy rather than legislation in the Northern Territory but nonetheless may we see them roll out across all states in this country where necessary for the protection of all workers and the good of all families. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, South Australia Branch, as well as Ms Woodford's family, friends and many supporters are to be commended for their work in ensuring that this potentially lifesaving legislation comes before us. With that I indicate as well that, in the spirit of continuing this important work, the Dignity Party will also be strongly supporting the amendments of the Hon. Ms Franks.

Again, thank you to everyone who has put work into this bill, from friends and family, the workers themselves, as well as parliamentary counsel for drafting this important piece of legislation before us, and long may this collaborative holistic work continue to protect all workers and, indeed, all people in this state.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: I will be brief but I did want to place on the record the Australian Conservatives' strong support for this bill. Nobody should go about their work duties and not return home at the end of their shift or the end of their day's work as it may be. That is especially true, I think, when the intention of that worker is solely to go to someone's assistance. This is a truly tragic situation that has occurred with Gayle's death as a result of this terrible situation, and it has resulted in the parliament ultimately moving to support this legislation, and I commend the government for bringing it before the chamber.

We have had a number of situations over the years that have resulted in tragedies at work but perhaps none quite as significant as this, and it is appropriate that the parliament acts. It makes sense and is an appropriate move that when a first responder is dispatched, particularly in a remote location, that they have company when they do it. It dramatically lowers the risk of anything untoward taking place. We support the bill and we also indicate our support for the amendments by the Hon. Ms Franks.

Clause passed.

Clauses 2 and 3 passed.

Clause 4.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: I move:

Amendment No 1 [Franks–1]—

Page 9, after line 33—Insert:

77M—Review of Part

(1) The Minister must cause a review of the operation of this Part to be conducted and a report on the review to be prepared and submitted to the Minister.

(2) The review and the report must be completed after the second, but before the third, anniversary of the commencement of this Part.

(3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report submitted under subsection (1) to be laid before both Houses of Parliament within 6 sitting days after receiving the report.

As I noted, this causes a review of the operation of this legislation to be undertaken between the second and third years of its operation. I do so to ensure that it is having the effect that we desire today and that it is appropriately resourced to ensure that those who are the first responders are not treated punitively if they do respond without complying with the provisions of that second person accompanying them, and to ensure that this issue is not seen as being finished and done with, because this issue is not finished and done with. Safety for all in rural and remote communities and particularly on APY lands is something that should be a priority for this parliament.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I mentioned in my second reading comments that I think the regulations will be crucial to this legislation. I wonder if the minister will indicate what process is intended for the development of the regulations and in particular if it is intended that there be any public consultation on the draft regulations.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: I am advised that once the bill is passed then a working group will be convened, made up of various interested parties, to start developing the regulations. The government is, of course, amenable to a public consultation process around that; notwithstanding the fact that the development of the regulations in the first instance will be guided by the working group made up of interested parties and stakeholders, and I simply want to indicate the government's support for the amendment.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The opposition also supports the review.

Amendment carried; clause as amended passed.

Title passed.

Bill reported with amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (15:55): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

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