Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Revenue) Share this | Hansard source

I understand that the amendment has been circulated. I want to talk about a disadvantage in health policy in my electorate of Hunter. There are many examples of that—notwithstanding some of the pressures being felt by the public hospital system; something which creates victims right throughout the region—but I want to talk about a specific area of disadvantage: the inability of people living in Cessnock and Maitland local government areas, which includes Cessnock, Maitland and a number of towns in between, to access a general practitioner. If there is one priority in this place for all of us, it should be providing an opportunity for all Australians to seek medical assistance when and if they need it, not only for them but for their families.

We often talk about resident to GP ratios in this country. Generally speaking, while we would like it to be lower, the accepted resident to GP ratio is about 1,500 to one—that is 1,500 residents for every local GP. Unfortunately, in my electorate, that ratio often goes as high as 3,000 people for each general practitioner. That is double.

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