Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Access to affordable health care and to adequate health services is a key priority for any community. This is certainly true for my electorate of Calwell. However, under the current government, the gap between service demand and service capacity in health care has continued to widen in Calwell. For the last 11 years the Howard government’s record on healthcare funding and allocation has been a story of neglect, coupled with a misleading campaign to blame state and territory governments for Australia’s healthcare woes. A report released in June this year entitled Caring for our health? A report card on the Australian Government’s performance on health care revealed that the Commonwealth’s share of funding for public hospitals has dropped from 50 per cent in 2000 to 45 per cent in 2007.

You cannot cut the Commonwealth share of funding to hospitals and then blame the states for the inevitable problems that this creates. We have lost $100 million of Commonwealth funding for public dental care under the Howard government. Out-of-pocket costs when visiting a doctor have more than doubled since 1996. Private health insurance premiums have risen by 47 per cent since 1999, and one in three Australians now cannot get health care or dental care because they simply cannot afford it. All in all, the Howard government’s report card on health care is riddled with failure.

In Calwell we face a number of challenges in the areas of health care and service provision, especially when it comes to primary care. Strong urban growth in suburbs like Craigieburn, for example, mean that there is a perpetual need for more healthcare services and additional infrastructure in Calwell. Calwell is home to some of Melbourne’s strongest growth corridors. Our population is expected to grow significantly over the next decade. In particular, many young families are now relocating to my electorate of Calwell. Additional infrastructure, alongside improved access to community based and specialist health services, is crucial if we are to keep up with the demands of our fast-growing population.

Calwell is also home to a disproportionately ageing population, with the number of residents aged 65 and over expected to nearly triple by 2016. Attwood, Roxburgh Park, Craigieburn and Greenvale are all expected to see a significant increase in their aged population. As well as planning for additional healthcare services to look after our ageing population, more emphasis needs to be placed on primary care initiatives that help keep elderly residents active and healthy so that they can remain at home for as long as possible.

Calwell is also home to a number of different ethnic communities and some of Melbourne’s most disadvantaged communities, especially in Broadmeadows, Campbellfield and Dallas. Both communities introduce new and significant challenges in the provision of adequate healthcare services and the need for better preventative healthcare measures. My local Hume City Council, in partnership with Dianella Community Health and the Sunbury Community Health Centre, recently released a report titled Municipal public and community health strategic plan 2007-2012 for Hume City, which outlines in detail many of the health needs facing the people who live in my electorate of Calwell. In the area of early childhood, the report cites long waiting lists for services to highlight the need for more specialist services for babies and young children in my electorate, especially in disadvantaged communities. The report also draws attention to the significant service gaps that exist for young people in Calwell. What we particularly need are more mental health and counselling services for young people in my electorate. Mental health now accounts for over 20 per cent of all cases in Calwell where an extended illness or disability prevents an individual from living a healthy and productive life. The incidence of diabetes is also growing exponentially in my electorate, with rates of diabetes now significantly higher than the state average. Diabetes now accounts for nearly half of all hospital admissions that could have been avoided with earlier intervention and better healthcare management.

Accessing public hospitals and emergency after-hours services is also a problem in my electorate of Calwell. With no hospital located in the electorate, visiting a hospital means having to travel long distances. Most local residents visit the Northern Hospital, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Royal Women’s Hospital or the Royal Children’s Hospital, with the latter three located at least 20 kilometres away. Particularly pressing is the need for an after-hours bulk-billing healthcare service for Broadmeadows and surrounding suburbs. In March and May 2006, I tabled two petitions calling on the Howard government to re-establish Commonwealth funding for an after-hours bulk-billing GP service at Dianella Community Health in Broadmeadows. Strong population growth and an increase in the number of young families moving to Calwell, a fast-ageing population and pockets of significant disadvantage mean that improving healthcare and service delivery is my highest priority in this place. I urge the government to respond to the needs of the people who live in my electorate, especially insofar as primary health care is concerned.