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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-11-28 Daily Xml
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Transparency in Government

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (14:57): My question is directed to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Will the minister update the council on the government's commitment to transparency in government?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:57): I thank the honourable member for his question. The council will be aware that one of the many problems with the Transforming Health budget cuts program was that it was imposed by the former Labor government and informed by a centralised bureaucracy without engaging the people on the ground. Consultation with staff was inadequate or simply non-existent.

The Marshall Liberal government committed to genuine engagement with staff in our work to fix the health system mess that Labor left us. This week, I announced the engagement of KordaMentha to the turnaround effort for the organisational and financial dysfunction within the Central Adelaide Local Health Network. In line with the government's commitment, we have made KordaMentha's diagnostic report and implementation plan available not only to staff within CALHN—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Minister, please sit down. Can the Liberal government front bench please be quiet and show courtesy to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Minister, please continue your answer.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Again, in line with the government's commitment, CALHN has held staff forums across the network, at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre. Staff have had the opportunity to be briefed by the network's new chief executive officer, Lesley Dwyer, and hear what the recovery plan means for them as they work in the network.

I am pleased to advise the council that there were nearly 1,000 staff at these forums, either online or in person, and that the response from staff has been overwhelmingly positive. That comes in and backs the initial assessment of their employee organisations. Staff within CALHN understand that things need to change. They want things to change. Staff deserve to be proud of where they work and the work they do. KordaMentha's reports identified leadership and culture as key problems within CALHN and the indication from staff is that they have seen the same issues. Individual staff have told me this, and this was the clear message from the staff at the forums.

Also importantly, a key part of the KordaMentha engagement is to train and upskill CALHN staff to ensure that the organisational change in the network is ongoing. This is good news for staff, and I know that there is real excitement in the network about the opportunities that will come. Staff want the organisational change laid out in an implementation plan. The unions have expressed cautious welcome, and I thank them for that. The only group who don't want CALHN turned around is Labor. They are the arsonists who lit the fire, and now they are trying to stop us from putting it out.

For the sake of the staff of CALHN, for the sake of South Australian patients and taxpayers, they need to stop their obstructionist political games. They need to admit the mess they left and let the Marshall Liberal government get on with the job of fixing it.

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