Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on what I feel is a very partisan motion before the Main Committee today. From the outset, what we need to make clear is that delivering health services for Papua New Guinea nationals is the responsibility of the Papua New Guinea government. This is their primary role. However, in pointing this out, I say that Australia can assist and support PNG nationals, and this is exactly what we are doing.

Papua New Guinea's largely rural and remote population do find it difficult to access basic medical services and we know that there are many key health challenges facing the region, which is why we are working with the PNG government to help address these issues. Our federal government agencies are working with the Queensland and PNG governments to assist and treat PNG nationals with tuberculosis. We are providing $1.1 million through AusAID to contribute to Papua New Guinea's ability and capacity to treat tuberculosis in the Western Province, which, of course, is the closest PNG region to Australia. The government's support helps recruit health staff to improve tuberculosis services at Daru Hospital and outreach services to villages along the South Fly coast. We are also providing $740,000 to temporarily support the Queensland Health tuberculosis clinics while PNG's tuberculosis capabilities in Western Province are improved and to ensure an appropriate transition of tuberculosis patients from Queensland Health to PNG, where both Australian clinics and PNG are working together to hand over the patients.

It is not only this government's support that is providing better long-term health outcomes for PNG residents; that is also supported by the World Health Organisation. In 2010-11 Australia provided $43 million to help strengthen PNG's health services across the country. It was under Labor that Australia signed the PNG-Australia Partnership for Development, which aims to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, something I am very passionate about, and other PNG development priorities. The partnership also provides a framework that allows both countries to work together in close cooperation to meet common challenges with a revised partnership schedule agreed at the 2011 Australian PNG Ministerial Forum, some of which are: faster progress towards universal basic education; approved access to quality education at basic secondary, technical and tertiary levels; and improving health outcomes by providing assistance for PNG to vaccinate more children, increase the percentage of births supervised by skilled staff, increase the availability of essential medical supplies and improve access and treatment for HIV-AIDS. AusAID clearly state the following:

Australia and Papua New Guinea are working together to address this challenge through the Partnership for Development. The Partnership sets out mutually-agreed priorities towards reducing poverty and increasing the quality of life for all Papua New Guineans.

They also state:

Australia and PNG have agreed to increase the percentage of babies delivered under the supervision of skilled staff, immunise more children and reduce malaria and tuberculosis.

Under the Health Sector Improvement Program, Australia and other development partners are working through the PNG health system so, in the long-term the PNG National Department of Health can manage and deliver health services. Donor contributions include operational costs for public health activities and staff training.

Australia also funds the World Health Organization in PNG to advise the PNG Government in critical local health areas including: tuberculosis, human resources, pandemic and emergency preparedness such as the current cholera outbreak, and maternal and child health.

Our work in PNG has seen an increase in the PNG Stop Tuberculosis Program from two provinces to five, as well as decreasing malaria incidence and deaths; the immunisation of 900,000 children against measles and other childhood illnesses in 2008; and an increase in HIV testing sites.

Health is a big priority for this government and has always been a Labor priority. It is surprising that the opposition members want to talk about health, because we know it is those opposite who oppose Medicare and the national health reforms, who cut billions from the budget for public hospitals and who continue to receive donations from big tobacco—more than $1.7 million in donations since 2004. The Leader of the Opposition, as health minister in the Howard government, cut $1 billion from public hospitals, which would have been enough to fund over 100 beds. It is Labor who established— (Time expired)

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