Supply Bill 2024 – Second Reading speech

Tuesday 14 May 2024 

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (12:57): I rise to indicate my support for the Supply Bill presently before the house. This bill, importantly, is to allow continued provision of public services in South Australia, including the salaries of our hardworking public servants while the state budget process is underway. 

I am so proud of the positive effect that this Labor government is having on our health system. In just the last few weeks, we have opened 20 new beds at Flinders Medical Centre in an acute care medical ward for older patients in a purpose-built environment. The Malinauskas Labor government has recruited an additional 1,432 health staff since the 2022 election. We have ended the cutting of doctor and nurse numbers, the cutting of staff in hospitals, and have actually begun a serious recruitment drive. 

This has meant our health system now has 691 extra nurses, 329 extra doctors, 219 extra ambos, and 193 extra allied health workers full-time equivalent above attrition. These figures smash our election promises with double the 300 additional nurses promised at the election, while the 329 additional doctors are more than triple the 100 pledged. 

Additionally, a brand-new purpose-built hospital avoidance hub for older patients opened at the Repat Health Precinct last month. The new care service replaces an existing service, which has been operating at the Repat for 2½ years in a temporary space. In that time, it has helped more than 10,000 people avoid an unnecessary visit to the emergency department. The new purpose-built and larger $3.5 million facility improves the existing service, providing an environment specifically designed for older people to get the care they need. I seek leave to continue my remarks. 

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (15:42): I am proud that thousands of South Australian women can now access an assessment through their new community pharmacy urinary tract infection service due to the work of our parliamentary committee, led by the member for Badcoe, which I was pleased to be a part of. This service, now available at participating pharmacies, allows South Australian women aged 18 to 65 with symptoms of an uncomplicated UTI to speak with a trained community pharmacist for assessment and, if appropriate, access to a one-off course of antibiotic treatment without needing a prescription. 

This, of course, is another way in which we are providing women in our community with safe, accessible treatment for their health concerns. So often, a woman experiencing a UTI cannot, unfortunately, access a doctor in a timely fashion and finds themselves in an emergency department although they would rather not be there, which of course creates a greater strain on our health system. Having the provision of community pharmacists to support them and dispense them their antibiotic treatment is incredibly helpful. 

In a further boost to women's health, eligible women are also now able to visit participating pharmacies for assessment to access a resupply of their oral contraceptive pill without needing to see a doctor for a script, another way women are avoiding difficult waiting times to see a GP. This service is available to women aged 17 to 50 who have been prescribed an approved contraceptive by a registered medical practitioner previously. This is in addition to the opening of three 24/7 pharmacies following an investment by the state government. The pharmacies are at Clovelly Park—one accessed by members of my community—Norwood and Salisbury. 

On average, more than 300 people are accessing these pharmacies each night during their extended hours, with an average of 130 prescriptions dispensed and 28 phone calls received each night across these pharmacies since they began operating 24/7—another way we are seeking avoidance from the hospital emergency system. With the health system on track, what we need is for South Australians to have a safe and affordable place to live. 

Unfortunately, there has been a history in South Australia of governments of both persuasions selling public housing. This has been stopped by this Malinauskas Labor government. Since the 2022 election, this state government has announced an additional $232.7 million investment into public housing which will see 564 new homes built across the state, including Dover Gardens and Marion in my electorate, and major upgrades to 350 vacant properties. 

In addition to this massive new investment, the government has cancelled the planned sale of 580 public housing properties. The opposition may try to duck and weave, but they were going to sell almost 600 homes had they been re-elected. The SA Housing Authority is building more than 1,000 new homes over four years under its ongoing capital programs and the government's additional investment. 

The state government has also released, purchased or rezoned land that will deliver nearly 28,000 homes over the next few years. This includes 10,000 homes at Concordia and Dry Creek, 2,000 at Hackham, 1,700 at Sellicks Beach, 800 at Aldinga, 600 at Noarlunga Downs and 500 at Golden Grove. I note previously members opposite were laughing at the addition of six homes being created in the community, but of course they all add up. When we look at the numbers this state government is producing, it is absolutely worth applauding. 

Locally, in Gibson, work is underway to deliver more than 680 new homes. South Australia's largest social housing regeneration project in decades has commenced at Oaklands Park under an innovative partnership between the community sector and state government. Led by South Australian developer Housing Renewal Australia, the Oaklands Park renewal project will transform a 16.5 hectare site between Barry Road, Bombay Street and Doreen Street, adjacent to the electrified train line. Oaklands Green is a fantastic development in our local community. 

The state Labor government has also approved a code amendment to rezone land at Virginia for 150 low-density allotments, and is considering two code amendments in Freeling which have the potential to create 415 new allotments. South Australians in rental properties have benefited from the reforms introduced by our government. Pets are now allowed in rentals—a reform welcomed by 68 per cent of South Australians who own pets. 

For the first time this year, South Australia has the best unemployment rate in the nation, a stunning sign of the strength of the state's economy. This state government understands families are struggling in this cost-of-living crisis and that is why this year we are delivering discounts to school fees, assistance to purchase laptops and subsidised home internet for students in need. Further, breakfast programs are also being made available in more schools this year following a $6.5 million boost from the state government over four years. 

With tourism in mind, we have seen the second AFL Gather Round, the magnificent WOMAD, the record crowds at the Fringe and the Festival, plus the Adelaide 500 as just some of the major events on our calendar throughout the calendar year. Of course, with our state pumping, we are delivering for all South Australians. It is certainly true that this government is able to support arts events and sports events at the same time. 

Heading south, major works have started on the Southern Expressway and Majors Road interchange project, which will have a significant impact on my community by reducing congestion on Brighton Road as traffic, instead, will travel along the north-south corridor. 

For the seniors in our community, I would like to thank Minister Picton for the Retirement Villages (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2024, which will deliver increased consumer protection for retirement village residents, mandate greater contract transparency, strengthen the role of the regulator and enhance industry standards. I am lucky to have many retirement villages in my electorate. 

Further, a new social housing development for Aboriginal elders at risk of homelessness is being built in Adelaide, delivering a much needed supply boost in Adelaide's south. This will deliver 40 modern and culturally appropriate homes at Warriparinga near the Sturt River, with the village built and managed by Aboriginal people. 

To sport, my community is so fortunate to have excellent community sports clubs. I would like to congratulate the Brighton District Table Tennis Club, Marion Bowling Club and Sacred Heart Old Collegians on receiving Active Club Program grants. I also mention the Warradale Park Tennis Club, where an upgrade supported by local, state and federal governments is underway. 

I would also like to highlight the work of the Marion Tennis Club which, despite having their home taken away from them behind closed doors by the City of Marion, is now growing. It has double the membership that it had at the beginning of the year. People want to support their local tennis club and have come out in droves to participate in this fantastic community club. Speaking of sports clubs, I must not forget to acknowledge my own club, Westminster Old Scholars' Soccer Club, which is once again fielding two women's teams and three men's teams this year. I am so fortunate to be part of a supportive, inclusive soccer club. 

But not everyone plays sport, and that is why I am proud also that this state government has expanded the $100 Sports Voucher program to include Scouts and Girl Guides for the first time: another cost-of-living relief delivered by this government to benefit families with children who want to learn life skills and leadership while also having fun and being engaged in our community. 

We know that South Australians are struggling not only with housing but also with the ever-increasing cost of living. To assist those in need, we have doubled the Cost of Living Concession; to assist seniors, we have delivered free public transport every day of the year; and to assist families, we have reduced the school materials fee for all public school students by $100. 

The pressure of urban infill impacts our streets and our neighbourhoods, making urban infill synonymous with congestion and inconvenience. Of course, we need urban infill to meet the needs of our growing population, but development must not compete with community, it must serve our community. That is why my constituents and I were so pleased to see the state government adopt the recommendations of the planning review, and I look forward to seeing them being implemented. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our surf lifesavers for their work this last summer. I am so pleased to have both Brighton Surf Life Saving Club and Somerton Surf Life Saving Club in my community. I know that members of our community are so grateful to see them patrolling our beaches every weekend, knowing that they are swimming safely and participating in water activities safely and, should something go awry, there are people who are trained, ready and pleased to assist. While we are on our beaches, I am pleased that on 1 March this year our government banned smoking and vaping on beaches between and within 50 metres of patrol flags and within five metres of jetties, meaning cleaner air for everyone at our beaches. 

I would also like to thank our frontline workers, whether they be nurses, doctors, ambos, police officers, or retail or hospitality workers. These are workers who continue to work hours far beyond the normal business hours that many of us enjoy, in order to keep us safe or to provide products and services we need at all hours of the day. I am so pleased to be part of a government that delivered appropriate, fair and reasonable pay for these workers on Easter Sunday, a move derided by those opposite. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the residents of my community who I have met at my mobile office, community forums, community catch-ups with ministers, while out doorknocking and at street-corner meetings. They have provided me with so many ideas and suggestions to improve our community, and I am proud to work alongside them and for them. 

I look forward to the upcoming budget, and seeing this Malinauskas government announce further initiatives and projects to improve the lives of South Australians, in particular the people of Gibson. I commend the bill to the house.