Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-07-25 Daily Xml

Contents

Australian Craniofacial Unit

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:22): Supplementary arising directly from the answer: the minister continually refers to the review as 'independent'. He was embarrassingly forced into giving a personal explanation today.

The PRESIDENT: Keep your question tight, Leader of the Opposition.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: How is the review independent if it was conducted by your own department? How is that independent?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:23): The selection process in question is a process of visiting medical specialists—

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: You will have a chance to ask that question in a minute. Let the minister answer your question.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The review relates to the selection process for visiting medical specialists who serve at both the Women's and Children's Hospital and the Central Adelaide Local Health Network. The selection process was, if you like, co-hosted by those two networks. When I raised a request for briefings an independent review was initiated. The Women's and Children's Hospital engaged a senior officer in the department to undertake the review. It's not unusual for reviews of selection processes to be undertaken either by other parts of the department or, for that matter, other departments within the Public Service.