Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health. I refer the minister to this article in the Adelaide Advertiser that raises concerns about the Noarlunga GP Super Clinic, labelling it a 'white elephant'. How have the ongoing issues at the Noarlunga GP Super Clinic affected the delivery of health services in South Australia?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Kingston will desist!

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is a lot of internal reflection going on in the Labor Party at the moment, and I think it is important to remind Australians about some of the achievements of Labor when they were in government during the Rudd and Gillard years. There was a lot of talk about 'backstabbing Bill' and all of the players in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd arrangement, and I think we should talk about some of the achievements of the Labor Party when they were in government.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Health will kindly refer to people by their correct titles.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can say to the House that the Labor Party promised 64 so-called super clinics—

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Health would assist the House if he withdraws.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I did not hear your request. I am happy to withdraw. The Labor Party promised 64 so-called super clinics in 2007. The great achievement of Labor was that they were able to deliver 33 of those in a six-year period. That is not bad, considering the Treasurer has outlined the fact that billions of dollars become a rounding error for Labor because, when they are in government, they rack up an enormous amount of debt. For those people who do not understand the GP super clinic program, what they did was they borrowed $650 million from overseas to spend on super clinics to compete with doctors who had already put their own money into those clinics, so some of those doctors were driven from business. The member for Kingston has been up here at the dispatch box today. She has been sliced and diced, waving her wet lettuce, sliced and diced by the Minister for Education. She continues to come up, gets knocked down each time, but she has been a great champion of this super clinic, and let me tell you some of the outcomes of this super clinic.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order on relevance. Perhaps the minister might also like to explain why he is getting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume her seat.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let us talk about the successes of Labor when they were in government, not just failures in education—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Ballarat will desist!

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

not just failures in terms of the management of the economy, but they wasted $650 million on this program. This particular surgery cost $50 million—sorry, $25 million for 50 rooms—it cost $2 million a room.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Ballarat will desist or leave, the choice is hers.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just to put that into perspective, a bed in a tertiary hospital costs $1 million. What would you expect for 50 rooms? How many GPs would you expect?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Kingston will desist!

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Would you expect 50, 100, 20, 30, 40? Labor's numbers and predictions jumped all over the place, but I will tell you how many GPs are in that clinic today—zero. Not even one. Only the Labor Party could borrow money to set up a clinic in competition to another doctor's practice and find that they open it at a cost of $25 million and not one doctor.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Kingsford Smith will desist!

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor were a failure when they were in government and they are a failure in opposition. They should never be allowed to return to this side of the parliament.

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.