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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-05-14 Daily Xml
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Influenza Vaccinations

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:53): A final supplementary: given the minister has been at pains not to use the word 'shortages' in this chamber or the media, can the minister explain what the difference between capping supply and having a shortage is?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:53): I would like to answer the question this way. I would wonder—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Allow the minister to answer.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I wonder if the honourable member could imagine this scenario. The Minister for Health insists that all doctors' orders for vaccines be fully committed when submitted. In the first two weeks, none reach country South Australia. None reach the remote communities. I would remind the honourable leader that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in country South Australia have worse health outcomes, not only in the general population in Adelaide but in the general population in the rural areas.

I would be rightly condemned if I interfered in the public health clinicians' distributions and then we had outbreaks. We had outbreaks in the country. We had outbreaks in relation to Aboriginal communities and perhaps even outbreaks in parts of Adelaide that were not on the delivery round rotation. My understanding is that the delivery round is over a two-week period. Is the honourable member really suggesting that we should have fulfilled—

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Point of order: relevance. The question was the difference between a shortage of supply and capping.

The PRESIDENT: The ministers have leeway to answer their questions.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Leader of the Opposition, have you finished? I would like to hear the minister's answer, as would other members of the council.

The Hon. K.J. Maher: Your staff won't be pleased with you.

The PRESIDENT: Continued comments—

The Hon. K.J. Maher: You let the cat out of the bag today.

The PRESIDENT: I appreciate you may have some ambitions of being a health minister yourself one day, Leader of the Opposition, but I would like to hear this one's answer.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: For the sake of the people of South Australia I will pray that that may never happen. Capped distributions are used to manage supply, to make sure that there is equitable distribution and to maximise the protective cover. You can't have parts of Adelaide that are fully immunised and other parts that are totally vulnerable. That would be a public health disaster. That is why I am relying on the public health clinicians to manage the National Immunisation Program deliveries.

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