Transforming Health | Motion
23/09/2015
The Hon. S.G. WADE: By leave, I move my motion in a slightly amended form:
1. That a select committee of the Legislative Council be established to inquire into and report on the health, social and financial impact of Transforming Health.
2. That the committee consist of three members and that the quorum of m embers necessary to be present at all meetings of the committee be fixed at two m embers and that standing order 389 be so far suspended as to enable the chairperson of the committee to have a deliberative vote only.
3. That this council permits the select committee to authorise the disclosure or publication, as it sees fit, of any evidence or documents presented to the committee prior to such evidence being presented to the council.
4. That standing order 396 be suspended to enable strangers to be admitted when the select committee is examining witnesses unless the committee otherwise resolves, but they shall be excluded when the committee is deliberating.
On Friday 11 September, I publicly announced that I would be moving this motion. That announcement was supported by all non-Labor parties in this council, for which I thank them. On Saturday 12 September, I sent an email to all members of the Legislative Council in the following terms:
Dear colleagues,
I advise that I will move for a Select Committee of the Legislative Council on Transforming Health with the following term of reference:
‘To inquire into and report on the health, social and financial impact of Transforming Health ‘.
I propose to seek a vote on the motion on 23 September 2015.
I would appreciate it if any member who would be willing to serve on the Committee could advise me at their earliest convenience.
Warm regards,
Stephen Wade.
I gave notice that I would be both moving the motion and seeking a vote on it today. I sent a reminder to members on 21 September. I acknowledge that it is not normal practice for a motion to be taken to a vote on the day it is moved, and I indicate that I would not want this to become common practice. I also indicate that I would support the adjournment of the motion if any member sought more time to consider it. No member has raised a concern with me.
The motion is simple and clear. It is a one-line reference: ‘To inquire into and report on the health, social and financial impact of Transforming Health.’ In terms of the case for the committee, I think it is well founded in the widespread concern in the community over Transforming Health. Labor’s Transforming Health plan includes: cuts to hospitals; the downgrading of the emergency departments at Noarlunga, TQEH and Modbury hospitals; closing the Daw Park Repatriation General Hospital; closing the Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre; and closing the St Margaret’s Rehabilitation Hospital at Semaphore.
South Australian Liberals oppose the closure of any hospital in Adelaide. We do not believe that any South Australian community should have to pay for Labor’s waste and budget mismanagement with the closure of its hospital. We have real concerns that the government has not genuinely consulted with the South Australian community about its health cuts plan. The lack of time given for the key consultation period in February/March was 3½ weeks, and the government gave more time to consult on time zones than health. There was a lack of information, there was scant data and no options.
In terms of the government’s engagement with the community, it was more in the nature of a public relations campaign that genuine engagement. The government has not released the 2,300 submissions it received on the proposals, even though earlier submissions on the discussion paper were published online. After waiting for almost eight months for transparency and accountability by this government, this parliament needs to step in and shine a light on the Transforming Health plan.
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: I will very briefly reiterate Dignity for Disability’s support for this committee. I would also like to thank the Hon. Mr Ngo for legitimising this committee by giving it so much of his attention. That performance will be on your greatest hits for sure, I am certain. I would also like to thank the Hon. Mr Ngo and the government for further legitimising this committee by bringing their amendment to the terms of reference, because I was led to believe that the government thought this committee was such a waste of time that they would not give it any attention. However, they have gone as far as to—
The Hon. T.T. Ngo: So you will support the amendment.
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: Yes, I will support the amendment because it legitimises this committee. I thank the government for doing that. I am happy to discuss the potential impact of the federal government cuts as well. I am happy to look at this holistically, so we will support the amendment and thank the government for legitimising this committee.
I also thank the Hon. Mr Ngo—I think he quoted me in part of that performance, which is a great honour. He was talking about how I had been quoted in the media as saying that the South Australian community needs a voice on this, and most certainly they do. As I have said before—and I will say it again—every South Australian will at some point interact with the healthcare system in some way, probably more than once in their lifetime, so why should they not have a voice?
I am not here to be negative for the sake of being negative. I think some of the aims under Transforming Health are laudable, but the fact is, as the Hon. Mr Ngo would have noticed from watching the news reports so closely, as it turns out, that there are significant concerns in the community about this proposal. It may well turn out that the government has everything correct.
If that is the case, they have nothing to hide but, whether or not they do, I consider it our job to give South Australians a voice on changes to a system that affects us all, either as consumers of that system or as taxpayers. With those words, I again thank the Hon. Mr Ngo for paying such close attention to my work and for his corporation on this important committee. We certainly commend the motion.
