Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in relation to the state of the Northern Territory health system. It is great cause for concern. It is a system that I feel I have to raise in this adjournment debate this afternoon. The Northern Territory health system, run by the Labor administration, is in a critical and unstable condition, despite enormous financial support from the federal government, and has been a staple media headline for months now. The common diagnosis, it seems, is that the Territory is currently plagued by a full-blown raging epidemic. It is not a mutant virus affecting the Territory, though; it is a sick and failing government that must be revived. The fact is, the only reason the hospital system has not totally failed yet is because of the gargantuan efforts of the health professionals who have gone above and beyond their call of duty.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And federal government money.

Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And federal government money. In 2001, two major planks of Clare Martin’s ALP election promises were to reduce waiting lists and to provide an oncology unit for Territorians. Not only have they failed in this regard, but waiting lists are now double what they were when the Northern Territory Labor government came to office. Now they are calling on the federal government to provide even more funding for an oncology unit that they promised. The minister, Dr Peter Toyne, on receiving the health portfolio—after the earlier Labor minister was sacked in December 2003—declared that—

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why was the minister sacked?

Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

She was hopeless. He declared that he would bring the hospital system into an orderly state. Within weeks of that, he announced that he was giving serious thought to retiring from politics. In June 2005, as part of the Martin Labor government’s election campaign, the health minister promised that another 48 beds would be provided to Northern Territory hospitals. None of these will be delivered before 2008, with 16 being delivered in 2008 and the rest being delivered in 2009. By July 2005, we discovered the problem of a growing waiting list for elective surgery, with one patient who required a hip replacement having his surgery deferred six times in the previous 12 months.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How many times?

Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was deferred six times in 12 months. Over the Christmas and New Year period of 2005-06, across the Territory emergency departments had queues of patients waiting for treatments and admissions to wards. Some patients were waiting on trolleys in corridors for up to four days, and some of them did not even get admitted to the wards but instead were treated in the emergency department over several days and then discharged.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It sounds like Third World or Queensland hospitals.

Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is very similar to Queensland hospitals. By January 2006, the health system under Minister Peter Toyne and the health department CEO, Mr Robert Griew, was at a crisis point with the emergency department unable to cope with the numbers and with shortages of staff. Those who are there frequently work double shifts and up to three weeks straight without any time off. Since Clare Martin came to power, the numbers on waiting lists for elective surgery have gone from around 1,000 to around 3,000, and there has been a recruitment of St John’s Ambulance paramedics to fill nursing roles and they are rostered in the emergency department on their days off. In February 2006, a patient with a blockage in his throat was made to wait for nearly a day on a trolley in a corridor to have that blockage removed. In fact, the man was told to drink Coca-Cola to fix his problem.

Only last week the federal government stepped in and bailed the Northern Territory government out of trouble by throwing them a lifeline by finalising arrangements—

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why not throw them out of office.

Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They deserve to be thrown out of office, but the federal government threw them a lifeline by arranging for the funding for the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre to go ahead at Royal Darwin Hospital. I make the point again that the only reason I can see that the health system has not failed is through the very hard efforts of the health professionals who are holding the flag of this floundering health system.

All of us remember that the Royal Darwin Hospital played a pivotal role in treating large numbers of casualties from the Bali bombings. The work of medical and other staff was magnificent under the direction of Dr Didier Palmer. While the trauma centre is designed to ensure Australia has an effective capacity to receive and treat casualties should there be another terrorist attack or a natural disaster, importantly, though, it will also be used on a day-to-day basis by the people of the Northern Territory. It is worth while here extending my many thanks to the Royal Darwin Hospital general manager Dr Robin Michael, medical superintendent Dr Len Notaras, and Dr Didier Palmer and his colleague Dr Dianne Stephens, who are the joint directors of the emergency department at Royal Darwin Hospital.

The lifeline that the federal government has thrown to the Territory government will offer immediate assistance to the NT health system, reactivating five operating theatres and establishing another 10 beds in the emergency care unit. A close eye will be kept on how the $66 million will be spent. I am advised that there will be big consequences if there is any cost shifting at all by the Martin government in the Northern Territory.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is it Australian government money?

Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is Australian government money, and we are keeping a very close eye on the Northern Territory government to make sure that they do not siphon off funds from this critical project.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Have they done it before?

Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They have done it in a whole range of areas. If the member for Fisher keeps interrupting me like this, I will not get through what I have to say!

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They are supportive questions.

Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They are supportive questions, of course. Meanwhile, Dr Peter Toyne and Clare Martin keep promising to do better and keep reassuring Territorians that an oncology unit is in the pipeline, but they have not delivered this in spite of budget allocations to fund the establishment of a unit at RDH. The Martin Labor government promised $14 million for an oncology unit, and it has not seen the light of day. Now we are told by the health minister in the Northern Territory that it is not viable. It appears that the minister is oblivious to the 250 patients who have to travel interstate for cancer treatment. These patients have lived in the hope that the Labor government will deliver the oncology unit each year for the last five years but to no avail.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome wholeheartedly to the NT two recently appointed cancer clinicians who support patients with cancer. They are oncologist Dr Matthew George and cancer support nurse Ms Nicole Robert. I sincerely hope they will want to stay in the Top End and I implore the NT government to support them. Dr Sid Selva left after 13 years of service as the oncologist at Royal Darwin Hospital because he felt totally betrayed by the Northern Territory government’s failure to keep their promise. I hope we do not face the same situation with the two new clinicians.

I would like to acknowledge a number of extremely important and well respected people and agencies that are relentlessly fighting for the best treatment and care for cancer patients in the Northern Territory: Helen Smith and the NT Cancer Council; Michelle Hanton, Breast Cancer Voice and Dragons Abreast; and Martha Swart and the NT Palliative Care Association, just to name a few. I share their spirit for the fight against cancer. I know how important it is for Territorians to have an oncology unit. I am here to tell the parliament that I am fighting hard down here at the moment to see whether the federal government can supply some resources to see this oncology unit become a reality in the Northern Territory. (Time expired)

Question negatived.