Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2013-2014 and the cognate bills, and to provide some context to the election commitments made to the Solomon electorate by the coalition during the 2013 federal election. Until self-government in 1978, the Northern Territory was effectively a sub-branch of the Commonwealth, with our decisions being made in Canberra on our behalf. Remnants of Canberra's administration still exist in the Top End, some of which are contained in the architecture on the various military bases around Darwin and a handful of old government housing complexes in and around the city.

One towering example of the Commonwealth's administration in the Territory exists in the monolithic form of the Royal Darwin Hospital. The hospital was commissioned for construction in 1974, based on Canberra's own Woden hospital design, which itself had been lifted from a Canadian model. Royal Darwin Hospital has about 350 beds, a workforce of approximately 1,500 and it is the only teaching hospital in the Northern Territory. Its services include anaesthetics, cardiology, emergency, intensive care, surgery, pathology and radiology, and it treats patients from right across the Northern Territory as well as, in some circumstances, north-west Western Australia.

The Royal Darwin Hospital is also host to the acclaimed National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre, a Howard government initiative that is on call to respond to crises in the northern region. In the fewer than 10 years since it began operating, the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre has established an impressive CV including, most recently, sending two AusMATs and a field hospital to the Philippines to work with those injured as a result of Typhoon Haiyan.

As I mentioned earlier, the hospital design was taken from a Canadian template. That probably explains why Royal Darwin Hospital came complete with snow shutters. I do not ever expect that snow shutters will ever be required in beautiful tropical Darwin, but we have them in this hospital. The hospital has done remarkably well to have grown as the Darwin community has grown. I pay tribute to the incredible group of people who work there night and day to treat the often complex admissions through its doors. Over the next few years, the hospital is expected to reach capacity, and it is estimated that it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to expand and grow the facility to meet future demands.

It is on that basis that I would like to thank my good friend the now federal Minister for Health, Mr Peter Dutton, who listened patiently to my constant demands about the need for the coalition to properly fund the construction of a new hospital in the Top End. Recognising that more money was required than the $70 million that was proposed by the previous Labor government for the funding of stage 1, I was able to secure an additional $40 million, which was confirmed during the election campaign. The coalition having been re-elected, that money is secure. The Commonwealth will contribute $110 million towards the construction of stage 1 of the Palmerston Regional Hospital. My good friend Northern Territory Minister for Health Robyn Lambley confirmed that the Northern Territory government will contribute another $40 million That is a total of $150 million which will be used for construction in stage 1 of the Palmerston hospital. As I have said a number of times, the Palmerston Regional Hospital was a key election promise for the people of Solomon, and it was my great pleasure to have both the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health in the electorate when that major announcement was made.

A few weeks ago the scoping study detailing the first stage of the Palmerston Regional Hospital services was released to the public. For the benefit of you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and others, I will cite some information contained in that document. The Palmerston Regional Hospital in stage 1 will be a level 3 service hospital, meaning that the care provided is for management of low-complexity and low-risk cases. General medicine will include cancer services, diabetes services, cardiology, gastroenterology, infectious diseases services and renal services. Maternity will include neonatal, obstetrics and paediatrics services. The core services provided will be supported by several clinical support services—for example, a 24-hour emergency department supported by pathology and pharmacy. The emergency department will incorporate 24/7 medical and nursing cover and will provide triage assessment, resuscitation and stabilisation. The Northern Territory government advises that some trauma patients—for example, those with serious head injuries—may be transferred to the Royal Darwin Hospital.

There are a number of private health service providers interested in being involved in the development of this new Palmerston hospital. The private sector involvement will ensure that the taxpayers' contribution will go further and maximise the new facility's capability. Work on the Palmerston Regional Hospital is expected to begin later this year. As Darwin and Palmerston grow, so too will this very important facility.

The previous federal Labor government provided funding for a hospital to be built on approximately three hectares, a block the mayor of Palmerston said at the time was unsuitable for development. The new site has been selected by the Northern Territory Giles government and is on the corner of the Stuart Highway and Temple Terrace. It has approximately 40 hectares, so there is space for unlimited expansion as well as the development of ancillary services going forward. It is a site that will grow with the community. Anyone who has lived in Palmerston knows only too well that Palmerston is the fastest-growing city.

Nathan Barrett, who is contesting the seat of Blain for the Country Liberals in the upcoming by-election, is only too aware of how important it is to get the planning right and build a sustainable hospital that will grow with the community, unlike Labor's plan, which was basically done on the back of an envelope. Like me, Nathan has lived in Palmerston for over 20 years and understands firsthand what we need. I hope that he is elected because I am confident that he will be able to work with the other members of the Palmerston team—the member for Drysdale, Lia Finocchiaro, and the member for Brennan, Peter Chandler—to ensure that we get a state-of-the-art hospital that can be built in stages and grow with the Palmerston community. This will be possible because half of the coalition's additional $40 million contribution for the Palmerston Regional Hospital was funded in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, and I understand the remainder will be contained in this year's budget.

Tiger Brennan Drive is another key issue for Top Enders. During the election campaign, the now Minister for Foreign Affairs, my good friend the Hon. Julie Bishop, came to the electorate of Solomon and announced $70 million for the duplication of Tiger Brennan Drive, the second arterial road between Darwin and Palmerston. We have made this funding available earlier than expected so the Giles government can get on and build the duplication of the 12 kilometres of road between Berrimah Road and the Darwin central business district. This is a vital piece of infrastructure for all Darwin and Palmerston residents.

We also promised some CCTVs. The Minister for Justice, the Hon. Michael Keenan, is a long-time friend of the Territory and through the safer streets program he confirmed my request of $300,000 for the rollout of the CCTVs in crime hot spots around Darwin and Palmerston. At this stage, the cameras are earmarked for hot spots in Nightcliff, Karama and Palmerston, but the final decision will be made in conjunction with the Northern Territory Police Force.

Grassroots sports were also funded during my election campaign. The coalition are well aware of the important role local sports clubs and associations play in the fabric of the Top End community. South Darwin Rugby League Club will receive $99,000 for upgrades to the Warren Park ground, the home of junior rugby league; the Darwin Table Tennis Association will get $13,000 for the purchase of 15 internationally certified competition tables; $5,200 will go to the Berrimah Riding Club to erect shade sails over the horse wash at Robbie Robbins Reserve; and the Palmerston Football Club will get $8,700 for the construction of new player locker rooms.

My 2013 election commitments can be summarised as promises that will provide assistance to the community and to sporting organisations, tools to assist police in addressing law and order, improvements to transport and infrastructure and significant funding for the construction of stage 1 of Palmerston Regional Hospital. Other promises, including scrapping Labor's carbon tax and stopping the boats that led to more than 1,000 deaths at sea were also part of my core promises. Unlike Labor, the coalition's election commitments in Solomon were targeted, costed and necessary; what is more, our promises will be kept. Labor, on the other hand, simply would not and could not keep their promises. In Solomon, I have had a number of groups come to my electorate office asking when they will receive the money that Labor promised. There were the oversized cheques for media purposes and the bells and whistles and the songs and dances that went along with Labor announcements. But there was one thing missing: the money. The cheques bounced when the organisations tried to cash them in. We already knew that we could not trust Labor with credit cards, but now it seems they have been writing rubbery cheques in marginal seats, particularly in my electorate. The reason for that is simply that Labor cannot be trusted to do what they say. Those on that side do not like hearing about their failures and, believe me, there have been many of them. The Labor way is simply to rewrite history and we see them do it time and time again.

The coalition government have been left to make the tough decisions that Labor simply were incapable of making. When Labor took government in 2007, they inherited a $20 billion surplus—an enormous amount of money on the back of the sound economic management by then Treasurer Peter Costello and the booming economy that created opportunities for anybody in the community who wanted to have a go. When the coalition took over management of the Treasury last September, we found that not only was the cupboard bare but the cupboard was full of unpaid bills. Labor left behind a projected budget deficit of $30 billion—$30 billion racked up on the credit card that will have to be paid off before the national budget can once again get back in surplus. Labor turned nearly $50 billion in the bank into a projected net debt of over $200 billion, the fastest deterioration in debt in dollar terms and as a share of GDP in modern Australian history. In interest payments alone, Labor's debt is already costing $10 billion and that is before we even get around to servicing the debt. Is it any wonder that Australians do not trust Labor to manage the national economy?

The tough measures the government will have to adopt going forward will be targeted. They will be designed to protect the most disadvantaged among us, but they will also be there to return Australia to a situation where we pay our own way and are responsible for our own financial destiny.

I conclude my speech today by paying tribute to the families, to the workers and to the businesses in my electorate who are out there having a go in the wonderful cities of Darwin and Palmerston. It is a great place to live and to raise a family and, with the sound guidance of the coalition government, I predict that in coming years it will only get better.

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