Ms ROSOL question to MINISTER for HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH and WELLBEING, Mr BARNETT
Will any patient-facing roles in the Health department be subject to vacancy control measures?
ANSWER
Honourable Speaker, I thank the member for her question and interest in this matter. There has been quite a lot of debate about vacancy control in recent times. Just to make it very clear, as I have said publicly, and likewise the Premier, there will be no cuts to frontline services. There will be no cuts. This time next year we will have more doctors, more nurses and more paramedics. That is a fact and I do not appreciate the misleading comments from those on the other side. What we are on about is delivering more and better healthcare services. In terms of frontline services, there will be no cuts. There will be more doctors, nurses and paramedics this time next year.
You have asked a very thoughtful question about the impact on those frontline services and we make it very clear that there will be no cuts. We support our awesome healthcare workers. You have heard me before saying this: thank you to them for what they do. They are there night and day, 24/7. They do the job and they deliver. The Premier cannot be any clearer, I cannot be any clearer, and we are determined to deliver better healthcare services. That is a key part of our DNA on this side of the parliament and I hope that we can all be of one accord in that respect.
Supplementary Question
Madam SPEAKER – I understand I am going to get a supplementary request from the member for Bass.
Ms ROSOL – Thank you, Speaker. I asked a pretty straightforward question to try to get to the bottom of this because the minister is being very evasive and has repeatedly obfuscated about what is happening in the department.
Madam SPEAKER – Ms Rosol, you cannot make commentary, you can only ask the supplementary.
Ms ROSOL – This should be an easy yes or no answer. Will any patient‑facing roles in Health be subject to vacancy control?
Madam SPEAKER – The original question had very little leeway in its content so I will ask the minister to address the question.
Mr BARNETT – I think there was a similar repeating of the question. I am more than happy to respond again.
Madam SPEAKER – Minister, I can advise you that repeating the question is entirely appropriate if it was not answered.
Mr BARNETT – That is right and I am more than happy to answer that question. Let us be very clear. You are really asking about the definition of a frontline worker and a patient‑facing worker. The government has said it will rely on the advice of the experts in the Department of Health. We make no apology. It is inappropriate for a minister to dictate what is and what is not a frontline worker. That is a matter for the Department of Health. Whatever that definition is, we will rely on the expert advice. From our point of view as a government, we have made it very clear there will be no cuts to frontline workers.
