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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-05-19 Daily Xml
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Yadu Health Aboriginal Corporation

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (14:58): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Will the minister update the council about the need for new facilities at the Yadu Health clinic in Ceduna?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Attorney-General, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:59): I thank the honourable member for his question. It is an important question and I have had an update from a number of my colleagues about Yadu Health in Ceduna. I think we can all agree that all South Australians should have access to health care whether they are in Adelaide, in the CBD, in the suburbs or in remote or rural parts of our state.

Unfortunately, Aboriginal people on the Far West Coast of our state have significant challenges facing delivery of health services from the Yadu Health service in Ceduna. The Yadu Health Aboriginal Corporation provides critical health services for Aboriginal people from its Ceduna clinic, providing support to communities in Ceduna and the surrounding areas. I'm advised that Yadu Health sees some 3,000 patients per year.

However the clinic faces problems, which is well known, including black mould, roof leaks around live electrical cabling, and walls and ceilings made of painted-over asbestos. I'm advised some parts of this building have been condemned as being unsafe for workers and are not even fit to be used for storage. The clinic is not fit for the people who work at Yadu Health service, nor for the people who access its health services. These issues are not new; they have been around for some years.

My friend and colleague in another parliament, Senator Marielle Smith, has similarly raised these issues with the federal government in the Senate. Despite these issues being raised, there has been no help forthcoming for Yadu and its problems with the infrastructure. There are still significant issues that need to be addressed.

I am proud that a commitment of this Labor government, that we made in opposition as an election commitment, was to provide $2.5 million to support the construction of additional accommodation for Yadu Health services, and I am pleased that we are working with the federal Labor Party—and we will know in a couple of days' time whether it is a federal Labor government or not—who have a commitment to provide $13.35 million to build Yadu Health.

I was proud to be part of the joint announcement from the federal and state Labor parties in Ceduna, alongside the shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, and South Australian Senator Marielle Smith. It was a very welcome commitment that will make a huge difference for Aboriginal people on the Far West Coast and ensure they have access to the health care they need and should expect.

It is a sign of the strong partnership we hope South Australia will have with the federal government, especially in the area of Aboriginal health. It is an important commitment not just for the Yadu Health clinic but for these communities. That is why we made this commitment, and an incoming federal Labor government joining with the state Labor government would go a long way to improving the health and lives of Aboriginal people on the Far West Coast with the building of a new health clinic at Yadu.

I am very pleased for the information I was able to provide the chamber that has been provided to me by my colleague the honourable member for Kaurna and health minister, Chris Picton.

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