Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) | Hansard source

Yesterday I raised the alarm about the SA Labor government's failure to properly address birthing service shortages in Crystal Brook, Jamestown and Kapunda. Expecting mothers across the mid-north are being forced to travel long distances to give birth, and the decision to divert birthing staff has destroyed their continuity of care. You would think this terrible situation might motivate the federal and state Labor governments to put some long-term solutions on the table to address this issue, but, Mr Speaker, you would be very, very wrong. Instead, the federal government is doing the exact opposite by actively making it harder to attract and retain midwives and birthing staff in regional South Australia.

Kate Edwards is a registered midwife working in the Whyalla hospital. What she is experiencing right now is absolutely shocking. Kate is amazing. Kate answered Australia's call for skilled healthcare workers. She packed up her life in the UK, moved to regional South Australia and filled a critical skills gap in Whyalla's maternity services. Eighteen months ago, Kate bought into the Australian dream when she purchased her first home. For those of you playing at home, what do you think this Labor government has done to thank her? If your answer was slapping her with an $89,000 fee in taxes and charges, you would be right. It's all because of admin errors that weren't her fault. To make a bad situation even worse, Kate was threatened with a $100,000 fine if she didn't pay up. When a fee waiver was sought, Kate was refused on the basis that she was deemed by this government to be a foreign investor and that it was not in the national interest. I say Kate's work is in the national interest, and shame on those of you who say otherwise. We need more people like her.

Because of this madness, Kate feels conned by this government. Kate was forced to use her inheritance, obtained from her grandmother, to cover these unfair costs to stay in Whyalla. Frankly, I was embarrassed to learn of the story of what Kate has experienced. She has given up so much to move to Australia and fill a critical skills gap. I had to apologise to her on behalf of our federal and state Labor governments. It is absolutely outrageous. This type of treatment of essential birthing staff in regional SA is completely unacceptable, and it sends the wrong message. The birthing service of Whyalla, a town of 22,000 people, was forced to close in 2023 because of critical staff shortages. It only reopened after determined recruitment efforts secured experienced professionals like Kate Edwards. Kate's permanent role provides women in Whyalla with dependable maternity care they otherwise would not have access to. Even South Australia's then Labor health minister Chris Picton wrote to our treasurer requesting a fee waiver. How has the Treasurer responded? Absolute crickets.

It gets worse. While Minister Picton has asked the federal Labor government to waive their fees, his own state Labor government have served up more than $28,000 in their own taxes in the worst case of hypocrisy I have ever seen. Despite our calls, the federal Labor government has ignored Kate and persisted with a system that penalises the very people regional Australia are trying to attract. It's absolute madness. The irony is impossible to ignore. Governments spend millions recruiting skilled healthcare workers from overseas only to burden them with punitive charges and make staying in regional Australia more difficult. Regional communities deserve better than this. This is not simply about Cate Edwards. It is about every nurse, doctor, midwife and allied health professional considering whether to call Australia home. If the federal government is serious about strengthening regional health care, it cannot continue to discourage the very workforce we rely upon. When a highly skilled midwife chooses Whyalla, chooses regional South Australia and chooses to make Australia their home, our government should be opening the door, not slamming it shut and handing them a bill.

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