Alex Antic (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Throughout the COVID period we learnt a lot about our bureaucratic class, and one bureaucracy we learnt about was the South Australian Department for Health and Wellbeing, otherwise known as SA Health. But SA Health's problems didn't just begin with COVID because in 2019 the Hon. Bruce Lander KC, the then South Australian Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, published a report entitled Troubling Ambiguity: Governance at SA Health, which details his concerns about SA Health being 'ripe for exploitation by corrupt employees'. This report led to a taskforce being established to investigate corruption, mismanagement and 'a toxic workplace culture at SA Health'. In his report, Mr Lander, a former Federal Court judge, wrote:

… that poor conduct and practices are common and accepted within SA Health. I cannot quantify the extent to which this is happening or the cost to the taxpayer. However, I can confidently state that it is not insignificant.

The report is replete with damning findings about SA Health's workplace culture and practices including:

A significant cultural problem is demonstrated in that 51% of SA Health respondents reported encountering bullying and harassment. In addition, 78% of SA Health respondents rated SA Health as vulnerable to bullying and harassment.

It's hard to think of a more clear example of bullying and harassment than SA Health's recent treatment of the 145 nurses, social workers, scientists and healthcare professionals, many of whom are in the process of being terminated because of their refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. That's right: in 2023 SA Health are still discriminating against their staff based on their personal medical decisions. All of this is despite SA Health having acknowledged that COVID vaccination has no impact on infection or transmission.

SA Health has been experiencing staffing shortages for several years now, and it's funny how that happens after dismissing hundreds if not thousands of staff members for refusing a COVID vaccination. They have even been advertising overseas for healthcare workers, yet there are plenty right there in SA who are willing to work if only they were allowed to work by SA Health. Of course, we are not stupid. This decision is not arbitrary. It is spiteful retribution designed to weed out those who simply won't dance to the beat of SA Health's drum. The message is clear: if you don't march to the beat of their drum then you are out. Vaccine mandates have always been unjustifiable and inexcusable, and anyone who says otherwise is frankly in denial. In fact, Queensland Health is set to remove its vaccine mandates for healthcare workers. SA Health, one of the nation's largest healthcare departments, really must now follow suit, but will the state Labor government address these issues? Of course they won't. South Australians deserve better from their public health bureaucracy than this hot mess.