Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

They are supportive questions, of course. Meanwhile, Dr Peter Toyne and Clare Martin keep promising to do better and keep reassuring Territorians that an oncology unit is in the pipeline, but they have not delivered this in spite of budget allocations to fund the establishment of a unit at RDH. The Martin Labor government promised $14 million for an oncology unit, and it has not seen the light of day. Now we are told by the health minister in the Northern Territory that it is not viable. It appears that the minister is oblivious to the 250 patients who have to travel interstate for cancer treatment. These patients have lived in the hope that the Labor government will deliver the oncology unit each year for the last five years but to no avail.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome wholeheartedly to the NT two recently appointed cancer clinicians who support patients with cancer. They are oncologist Dr Matthew George and cancer support nurse Ms Nicole Robert. I sincerely hope they will want to stay in the Top End and I implore the NT government to support them. Dr Sid Selva left after 13 years of service as the oncologist at Royal Darwin Hospital because he felt totally betrayed by the Northern Territory government’s failure to keep their promise. I hope we do not face the same situation with the two new clinicians.

I would like to acknowledge a number of extremely important and well respected people and agencies that are relentlessly fighting for the best treatment and care for cancer patients in the Northern Territory: Helen Smith and the NT Cancer Council; Michelle Hanton, Breast Cancer Voice and Dragons Abreast; and Martha Swart and the NT Palliative Care Association, just to name a few. I share their spirit for the fight against cancer. I know how important it is for Territorians to have an oncology unit. I am here to tell the parliament that I am fighting hard down here at the moment to see whether the federal government can supply some resources to see this oncology unit become a reality in the Northern Territory. (Time expired)

Question negatived.

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