Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The first thing I would like to do is congratulate the member for Murray in her continuing efforts to fight the good fight on behalf of regional Australia, particularly in regard to her own constituents, in that she has always put their health, wellbeing and future at the forefront of all her activity. I commend her for that and thank her for bringing this very important motion to the floor of the chamber.

Also I thank the member for Forrest, who never gives up in her pursuit of policies that benefit rural, regional and remote Australia. There are a number of us in this House, and I was pleased to hear the new member for Bendigo speak on behalf of rural and regional people. We cannot ever lose sight of the fact that the whole of Australia does not live on the eastern seaboard of this nation; in fact, they live in rural and remote places.

The best part about what the member for Murray has presented for us today is that—and I hope the people in the gallery hear this and those listening to this hear it—we are looking right now at and talking about something that has been a success. It has been supported by both sides of the House. It has been supported by two governments and now three governments in a row. It has worked. It has taken rural students—and if I get a chance I will quote three here—from a rural background, from rural activity and from rural, remote and regional areas and educated those people through our medical schools, and they have gone back into regional areas.

Every health minister in the past three governments has supported this proposal. In fact, it goes right back to Michael Wooldridge. Every health minister has supported this proposal, and it has been a success. What a pleasure it is to stand in the House of Representatives in this great nation, in this great south land, which has so much that is rural and remote about it. Our image of ourselves is about the rural and remote. The story we tell to the world is about the rural and remote. It is about the adventure that Australia is.

This particular program, in its essence, has delivered services to people in rural and remote areas through their GPs. It has been successful. We had people marrying—or partnering, as we might like to say these days—somebody in the city and never returning to the country after being educated in the city. We know they are lost to us completely. They are not lost to the nation, but they are lost to our country areas. This education program that the member for Murray has highlighted, in its success, has taken people out of the city. In one story here—which I probably will not get to now because the time has gone—the young lady actually went from the city to a regional medical school, then she thought, 'I'd really like to do my internship in a regional hospital.' That doctor has every chance of the fulfilling the dreams, the aspirations and the energy behind what the member for Murray is highlighting today, even if it is one person and it is one doctor. There will be plenty of doctors for city people.

I know this city of Canberra has plenty of doctors. They do not particularly want to come and service us out in our regional areas, because out in regional areas we are not as well as the rest of the community. We still play up pretty badly and have a terrible reputation for health, but it is improving. I just heard a debate in the Federation Chamber on lung cancer, which was most enlightening—and most embarrassing for some of us too. Having said that, it is important that the subject of this motion before the House is recognised as a very, very important initiative that has been successful.

We are not arguing with anybody. The member for Murray is simply saying: 'Here is a process that has worked. Here is an opportunity for future generations of young people coming out of our secondary schools, right across regional Australia, to enter into these rural health schools.' It is very important to us, it is important to this nation and it is very important to rural and regional people that they get the same opportunities for health care as people do in outer Melbourne or in the city centres. I commend the member for Murray and especially the member for Forrest for their continuing efforts on behalf of people right across rural and regional Australia.

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