Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to report to this House the findings of a community survey that I conducted in my electorate of Calwell just before Christmas last year. Residents were asked to number in order of importance the federal issues that mattered to them most. The survey listed some 14 different issues for residents to choose from. The results of the survey showed that health, water supply and the high cost of petrol rated as the three most important issues of concern for the constituents of Calwell. I want to take some time today to speak to each one of these very important issues.

Overall, on the issue of health, access to affordable health care and the rising cost of medicines topped the list of concerns for local residents. In my electorate of Calwell, ongoing doctor shortages and the lack of an after-hours bulk-billing healthcare service remain two of the biggest concerns for residents. In March last year, I tabled a petition in this House that called on the government to provide federal funding for an after-hours healthcare service at the Dianella Community Health Centre. The petition contained some 1,406 signatures. On 11 May 2006, I tabled a second petition on the same issue that contained a further 818 signatures. When the after-hours service at Dianella was operational, the centre saw an average of 250 patients every week—51 per cent of those patients were healthcare cardholders. To date, there has been no response from the government, no federal funding has been forthcoming and local demands have thus far not been met as far as my residents are concerned.

Today, also in the area of health care, access and affordability have become key issues of concern for not only my constituents but Australians generally. As in so many other areas of health care, the government has swung the pendulum too far in one direction, and we need to restore the balance if we are to address the needs of our constituents.

The cost of medicines continues to grow, and so there are increasing concerns about the PBS. Residents in my electorate frequently complain that there are not enough GPs and specialists, particularly in the very important area of mental health services, practising in the area. I believe that one solution would be to introduce higher rebates for bulk-billing doctors. This would encourage more local GPs to bulk-bill their patients.

The region’s future water supply was the second concern most frequently cited by respondents to the community survey. An overwhelming majority of constituents who have spoken to me are frustrated and angry that so little has been done to stem Australia’s looming water crisis, especially in the areas of preparation and planning. Any solution to Australia’s water crisis must be sustainable in the long term as well as provide relief in the short term. It needs to reflect the reality that weather patterns in Australia have changed irrevocably, and it needs to link Australia’s decreasing water supplies to the broader question of tackling climate change.

The simple fact is that we need to invest in Australia’s national water infrastructure in a way that allows us to better conserve our freshwater supplies and better utilise the huge volumes of waste water currently being lost down the drain. My own belief is that water recycling for both domestic and commercial use will play a critical role in changing the fortunes of Australia’s water crisis. What this country lacks, however, is a set of clear and comprehensive national guidelines for water recycling in Australia. Such guidelines would go a long way towards building public confidence in water recycling.

The third most important issue for residents in my electorate of Calwell is, of course, the soaring price of petrol. High petrol prices continue to eat into the household budgets of many Australian families—my constituents included. Personal debt levels in Australia have already reached $1 trillion and Australians now pay a far greater percentage of their income on servicing their mortgages than ever before. When you add to this the soaring cost of everyday living and the uncertainty created by the government’s Work Choices laws, the dramatic effect of high petrol prices on household budgets becomes all the more real.

Unfortunately, the law of petrol pricing in this country remains one of putting company profits ahead of the interests of Australian motorists. Whilst oil producers are always quick to raise the price of petrol whenever the price of crude oil goes up, they are mercilessly slow to reduce the price of petrol when crude oil prices fall. Like many Australians, many of my constituents have caught on to this game. They want the government to act. (Time expired)

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