1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:04,520 Speaker 1: Andrew Hoff in the Advertisers broken the story about the 2 00:00:04,559 --> 00:00:08,559 Speaker 1: proton machine. That was proton therapy unit that was to 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:12,159 Speaker 1: be installed in the brag Medical Center. This is the 4 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: new building next to the cheese Grater, the sam rebuilding 5 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 1: on North Terrace and in the basement of that four 6 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: story as I understand at Fortified Bunker. This proton therapy 7 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,119 Speaker 1: machine was to have been put in the first in 8 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:31,760 Speaker 1: the Southern Hemisphere, and the idea was to tackle difficult cancers, 9 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: particularly in children in younger people. Would have been just 10 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: the best acquisition possible. We have already spent, as I 11 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: understand it, over fifty million dollars, but the deal has 12 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: been canceled because the organization Proton International has gone into 13 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: bankruptcy into administration. Where does that leave our money? What next? 14 00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: Even Mulligan, State Treasurer, on the line, mister Mulligan. 15 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 2: Good morning, Good morning, Matthew. 16 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 1: I'm bose figures right, over fifty million spent so far 17 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: in federal state taxpayers dollars. 18 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 2: Yeah. So this this initiative was funded by a commonwealth 19 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 2: grant from the then Turnbull federal government. They provided sixty 20 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 2: eight million dollars and the state government provided a grant 21 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:25,680 Speaker 2: of ten million dollars, and about fifty million dollars of 22 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:28,959 Speaker 2: that has been spent to date on the company that 23 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 2: was selected by Sammary to deliver the proton therapy unit. 24 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 2: And it is incredibly frustrating and disappointing that that company 25 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 2: hasn't been able to make good on the contract and 26 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 2: deliver the proton therapy unit. They had been asking increasingly, 27 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 2: particularly during twenty and twenty three, for more money to 28 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 2: be paid to them and for payments to be made 29 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 2: in advance of them meeting their mindstones under the contract, 30 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 2: and as you can imagine, that was raising alarm bells 31 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 2: with Samary and also the government. So at the beginning 32 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:11,519 Speaker 2: of this year, a delegation from SAY Health, from Treasury 33 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,960 Speaker 2: and from Samary went over to the United States, where 34 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,679 Speaker 2: this company is based to visit them, to eyeball them 35 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 2: and see if them and their suppliers were able to 36 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 2: deliver against the contracts. They also visited the Massachusetts General 37 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 2: Hospital in Boston, where they had successfully installed one of 38 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:37,840 Speaker 2: their systems previously, and the advice that came back to 39 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:40,640 Speaker 2: me and to the Commonwealth was that we shouldn't be 40 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,920 Speaker 2: making any further payments until they could demonstrate their capacity 41 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:47,240 Speaker 2: to deliver against the contract, and we've been trying to 42 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 2: deal with them since that time, since February this year 43 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,519 Speaker 2: through to the last few weeks to try and see 44 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 2: if they can get back on track. It's become clear 45 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:01,519 Speaker 2: that they can't and that's why sammarys Now had to 46 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 2: terminate the contracts. What this means from here is the 47 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 2: government's trying to assist Samari see if there is another 48 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:15,679 Speaker 2: global supplier, perhaps of better repute, that can deliver their 49 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 2: equipment into the building that had been specifically built for 50 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 2: Proton International and where still a few weeks away. I'm 51 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:27,960 Speaker 2: told from getting that advice from engineers as to whether 52 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,399 Speaker 2: that's possible. We hope that it is because we want 53 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,119 Speaker 2: this to succeed in South Australia. This is really important 54 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 2: cancer treating technology that have benefits South Australian cancer patients 55 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 2: but also austraining cancer pation, and we're trying to work 56 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 2: through it is to try and resuscitate this initiative, okay, 57 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 2: because we think it's. 58 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: Important for the state absolutely. So the idea is still 59 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: to get a similar machine here. That's still the plan. 60 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. I mean These are enormous pieces of equipment, 61 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 2: you know, many stories high. They shoot these proton beams 62 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 2: down long concrete insulated corridors which are then sort of 63 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 2: bent into treatment rooms where they go into the patient's 64 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 2: body to target the cancer and kill off the cancer 65 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 2: cells without damaging as much surrounding tissue. But each global 66 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 2: supply has a different a different unit with different physical dimensions, 67 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 2: and the building was built specifically for the dimensions of 68 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:34,719 Speaker 2: this supply, And given this supply is not continuing, we've 69 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 2: got to see if somebody else's kit can filled in 70 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 2: them can fit within the building that has been built. 71 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 2: We don't know whether that's the case or not, but 72 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 2: we have got our fingers crossed hoping that it is, 73 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 2: so that we can try and give this initiative back 74 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 2: on track for the benefit of cancer patients in our state. 75 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: So there'd be little chance, little hope of getting any 76 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:56,719 Speaker 1: of that fifty plus million back. 77 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 2: Well that has actually been part of them. A goos 78 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 2: with Proton is, if we're not going to continue on, 79 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,479 Speaker 2: how do you pay back some of what has been 80 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 2: paid to you by commonwealth and state taxpayers. They had 81 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:16,479 Speaker 2: made an offer to try and make good some of that, 82 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:19,600 Speaker 2: but the terms in which they are offering, you know, 83 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,839 Speaker 2: they wanted many more months, for example, weren't accessible to 84 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 2: summary or to the state or federal governments. So we're 85 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 2: still trying our best to recover what we can. We're 86 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 2: also talking to their supplies with the materials that they 87 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 2: have manufactured to see if we can recover whatever they 88 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:42,719 Speaker 2: might have in their inventory. Not necessarily the little be 89 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 2: of use for us, but you know, we have paid 90 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,159 Speaker 2: for this, and we don't want the company that's failed 91 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:52,599 Speaker 2: in its obligations state to get the benefit of something 92 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,039 Speaker 2: that austraining government taxpayers are paid for. So we're still 93 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 2: trying to work through that, and I've got to say 94 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 2: Sam and the clinicians involved have been incredibly good to 95 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 2: work with and very understanding despite the awful situation that 96 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 2: they've been placed in. We're just trying to work through this, 97 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:17,040 Speaker 2: hopefully so that we can somehow get this project back 98 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 2: on track. 99 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: Is anyone in government asking how the decision to go 100 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 1: to Proton was made, because this isn't changing your supplier 101 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: of HB pencils. This is building a building to specific 102 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: design to as you say, ensure that a high tech 103 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: machine operates the way it should. You know, it's no 104 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 1: small matter obviously, So how did it come to this? 105 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:45,839 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a good question. So yes, is the short answer. 106 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:49,039 Speaker 2: Somebody is looking into this. The Order the General is 107 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 2: reviewing this contract and the circumstances around it, and I 108 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,080 Speaker 2: think that's a good thing. I mean, this is many 109 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 2: millions of dollars of tax players money which has been used, 110 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:01,840 Speaker 2: and I think it's right that we get a clear, 111 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 2: right understanding of what happened and why the contracts or sorry, 112 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 2: the provider, Proton International was selected by Sammary and we 113 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 2: want to understand why, of course Proton was chosen when 114 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 2: there are other global companies that have supplied these facilities 115 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 2: many times over with a much greater success rate. And 116 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 2: no doubt that'll be some of the information that the 117 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 2: Auditor General will be reporting on. I mean, it was 118 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 2: a decision that was taken quite some time ago now, 119 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 2: but you know, as the treasure of the state, I 120 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 2: think we've always got to be very careful with how 121 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 2: we're spending taxpayers money, particularly when it's such a large 122 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:48,920 Speaker 2: amount and for it to go so wrong. 123 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Well that's the key thing. So a few 124 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: more weeks before you get a response as to what 125 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 1: happens next. I understand that's what you said. 126 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. So I guess in two stages. First, 127 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:03,080 Speaker 2: we get advice from the engineers. Can somebody else's gear 128 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 2: fit in what's already been built? And if the answer 129 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 2: is yes, then we've got to go through a process 130 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 2: with suppliers to see on what terms they would enter 131 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:17,680 Speaker 2: into an agreement with Samary to supply that. That's obviously 132 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 2: going to come at a much more significant cost from 133 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 2: here on in, you know, we'll basically be having to 134 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 2: start afresh with a new supplier and it'll be up 135 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 2: to the Commonwealth er the state to see if we've 136 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 2: got the capacity to provide. 137 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:32,560 Speaker 1: Those fun all right, Steve A. Mulligan, appreciate your time. 138 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: Thank you. Thanks Matthew Treasurer of South Australia. On this 139 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:39,560 Speaker 1: proton therapy unit that was to have been installed in 140 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:44,080 Speaker 1: the basement downstairs of the new brag building on North 141 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:47,040 Speaker 1: Terrace next to Samary, just on the eastern side of 142 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 1: the Samary building and the Proton International has gone through 143 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,079 Speaker 1: the hoop with fifty million of taxpayers money, ten million 144 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:57,559 Speaker 1: of its coming from the State government.