Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to again speak on this important bill, the National Health Amendment (Continence Aids Payment Scheme) Bill 2010. I will add to my earlier remarks. I tendered that many of the presentations to Kempsey hospital were complex and involved mental health issues and violence. I know this is not unique in emergency department terms, but this puts extra pressure on the doctors and nurses in Kempsey. Kempsey hospital services a large area that stretches from Millbank in the upper Macleay across to South West Rocks and down to Crescent Head. It is a huge area, and it is important that the services are maintained and not eroded. I have supported public rallies which the Kempsey nurses have hosted and have shared the frustration and anger they feel towards the bureaucrats and ministers who continue to reject their case for more resources.

The recent acknowledgment by the North Coast Area Health Service that the nurses may have a case is welcome. A review—one of the endless reviews—is taking place and that is indeed long overdue. But there is no excuse for the way Kempsey nurses have been treated in this matter. I, like the Macleay community, will remain vigilant on this matter until Kempsey hospital secures the additional resources required for the emergency department.

There is not a hospital on the North Coast that has stronger community support than the Maclean District Hospital. Whether it be the hospital auxiliary or the local community, lower Clarence residents understand the importance of supporting their local hospital. But there is little doubt that the lower Clarence residents have, over time, been treated as second-class citizens by health bureaucrats. In 2007 the North Coast Area Health Service sold some land next to the Maclean hospital. Local residents thought the funds raised would be invested in upgrading infrastructure in Maclean—but, no, the North Coast Area Health Service decided instead to upgrade the emergency department in Grafton. In 2008 the NCAHS tried to sell more land adjacent to the Maclean hospital, but the community outcry eventually ensured there was little interest in the land and the area health service took it off the market. Slowly but surely the North Coast Area Health Service has been withdrawing resources from Maclean hospital. The hospital no longer has its own executive officer in charge, and a security guard’s position has been axed. Once again, the smaller hospitals are being screwed of every last dollar as services are centralised to larger regional hospitals.

Many of the concerns which I have detailed with regard to the above hospital also apply to Macksville Hospital. Macksville Hospital now has to share a director of nursing and an executive officer with Bellingen Hospital. Staff at Macksville Hospital do a great job in providing services to the Nambucca Shire but they have no choice now but to refer many cases to Coffs Harbour, which is 50 minutes drive away.

I would like to bring the parliament’s attention some comments that the federal member for Page has recently made. In the Northern Star newspaper the member for Page made the following comments in relation to provision of dental care:

These waiting lists grew to more than 600,000 after the Howard Government scrapped the Commonwealth dental scheme in 1992 … Rather than pass legislation to provide dental health care to those most in need the Opposition senators would rather keep a flawed Howard Government Scheme  where the poorest people get nothing.

These comments were made in a letter to the editor, so I do not think they were made in the heat of the moment but I do believe that she was not telling the gospel truth. Firstly, the Howard government did not scrap the dental health scheme in 1992—Paul Keating was our Prime Minister in 1992. But, more importantly, the Rudd government has been intent on scrapping the Howard government’s dental program. This scheme allowed people with chronic and complex health problems, where dental health was a contributing factor, to receive up to $4,250 over two years for dental therapies.

The federal Minister for Health and Ageing claimed in parliament that the program had only helped 15,000 people in four years. However, Ms Gay Santiago, acting assistant secretary of the primary care financing branch of the Department of Health and Ageing has told a Senate estimates hearing that the scheme provided 311,943 services between November 2007 and 30 April 2008. These services are vital for those who have the most genuine need for major dental work yet the Rudd government, including the federal member for Page, are willing to turn their backs on their people and it seems they are most willing to bend the truth when presenting their case.

Whether we speak about this legislation today or whether we debate the broader implications of the Rudd government’s approach to health, the real concern here is that the Prime Minister’s focus is not so much on people but on politics. This is why quite often the government falls short when we look at the detail. We should never forget that health is not about headlines, it is about human beings. Politicians like the Prime Minister who dress up new health agreements as a major reform but fail to provide meaningful detail are treating Australians with contempt. The details of health policy are the difference between health and illness, between help and despair, between dignity and embarrassment and, in extreme cases, between life and death. The opposition cautiously welcomes the government’s changes to the CAAS program but we will continue to scrutinise the government’s every move in the health portfolio. They have a track record of failure rather than success on everything they touch.

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