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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-03-18 Daily Xml
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Health Budget

The Hon. C. BONAROS (15:08): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Health and Wellbeing a question about the state's health budget.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C. BONAROS: InDaily recently reported that a government spokesperson claimed the government had invested more than $2 billion extra into the health system since it formed government in 2018. I think that is about a third of the budget increase. Talking to frontline clinicians, nurses and staff, they have seriously questioned some of those claims, including those who work at the Women's and Children's Hospital where, coincidentally, a recent mishap saw external cladding break away and plummet to the ground from several floors up onto the road below.

Luckily, no-one was injured in that, but there are concerns about ongoing maintenance at the hospital being the cause. There are also increasing concerns about the situation being likely to worsen as the government focuses on reducing costs across the health system and focuses on expenditure for the proposed new Women's and Children's Hospital.

My question to the minister is: can you provide a list of where the extra $2 billion that was claimed to have been spent, as reported in InDaily, has been invested, and not money committed to forward estimates; how much of that has been spent on building maintenance at the Women's and Children's Hospital over the same period; and can the minister provide a breakdown year-on-year of money committed to building maintenance at the Women's and Children's Hospital over the past three years?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:09): I would be very pleased to answer the honourable member's question but, if I may, could I seek leave to add to an answer that I gave to the Hon. Frank Pangallo yesterday?

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The Hon. Frank Pangallo was asking about patrons within the Adelaide Oval precinct. I am advised that under the Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority COVID management plan, patrons in general seating can only consume alcohol seated in their designated seats. This is to avoid creating congestion at bar areas and allow people to socially distance as they move about the stadium or queue to buy food or use the facilities.

From a public health point of view, patrons are free to watch the game and heckle from the concourse but they must wear a mask while on their feet. The Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority COVID marshals and security will be there to make sure that patrons comply with the oval requirements. The authority has been discouraging people from spending too much time on the concourse to avoid causing congestion, especially in areas where people are queueing or trying to move about the stadium. I thank the council for its indulgence.

The Hon. F. Pangallo interjecting:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: You can't supp on it, can you? Have a go later. Sorry, I don't mean to bring chaos in.

The Hon. F. Pangallo: What about the cheering itself?

The Hon. S.G. WADE: No, that was included in the heckling—cheering is heckling. So to the Hon. Connie Bonaros's question: since the March 2018 election, the Marshall Liberal government has reinvested over $2.2 billion into the health budget, reversing Labor's cuts made in the 2017-18 budget. This is in addition to our record $1.1 billion investment in health infrastructure. Which leads me to answer a rhetorical question that the Treasurer asked me yesterday: how much is health spending on capital? My advice is that in the 2020-21 state budget, investing expenditure programs for SA Health were $378 million.

It won't surprise the house that that includes a massive investment right across the health system. That includes an increase of $50 million to the TQEH redevelopment, the redevelopment that the former Labor government made so famous because it was the most cancelled project in the state's history. We are actually delivering it—we are actually delivering it.

As the Hon. Treasurer does not need to be reminded, not only have we reversed Labor's cuts to health to the tune of billions of dollars, we are also continuing to invest new money. So the 2020-21 state budget included new money for budget measures for the Department for Health and Wellbeing with a net lending impact of $171 million, which meant that for the first time in this state's history the health budget in South Australia now exceeds $7 billion, so we are now spending $7.193 billion on health services.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Let me go to the particular capital project—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —that the Hon. Connie Bonaros asked me to reflect on, and that is the new Women's and Children's Hospital, another massive investment in the health and wellbeing of South Australians—a very exciting project.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Ms Bourke is out of order and so is the Hon. Mr Wortley.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The honourable member invited me to reflect on the facade falling off the Women's and Children's Hospital and what that said about the state of the asset. What that says about the state of the asset is that that precinct is well past its use-by date. That is why this government is committed to a new Women's and Children's Hospital in the North Terrace precinct. But what was Labor planning—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —when they went to the election? They were promising—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Mr Hunter!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —to actually deconstruct the Women's and Children's Hospital, one of the great assets of the South Australian health system and they were going to leave it—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! We are keen to get on and finish question time and get in more questions. The minister is answering the question, but I am finding it very difficult to hear, and I am sure members of the opposition are too because they are all shouting over the top of each other.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: With all due respect, Mr President, I think the reason they are shouting over one another is that they don't want to hear the answer, so let me tell you some more.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Where the facade came off—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Where the facade came off, where the facade came off—I'll keep repeating it until I get to say it!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Sit down. The Hon. Ms Pnevmatikos has the call.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: I can do what I like, but I will give the Hon. Ms Bonaros an opportunity to ask a supplementary.

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