Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support, acknowledge and speak up for the tremendous work and commitment of Amanda Drennan, a 22-year-old swimmer and Paralympian. She lives on Phillip Island and has been the pride of that place. She has represented Australia internationally with great success, great acclaim and great achievement. She is a joy to meet because of her enthusiasm, her commitment and her dedication. Next year, she will be doing an extraordinary thing—she will swim around Phillip Island in Westernport Bay. That will be a swim of approximately 65 kilometres. She is doing this for a number of reasons. Firstly, she is doing it to raise awareness and to push the case—and raise money—for renewed hospital services on Phillip Island. Phillip Island cruelly lost Warley Hospital after the 2007 federal election, when the incoming Rudd government refused to honour the coalition’s pledge of $2½ million of federal funding to ensure that Warley Hospital remained in existence. The hospital subsequently closed, to the detriment of the community on many fronts, and the community is now fighting—with my total support—to have the hospital reopened as part of the state owned Bass Coast health network, to be linked in to Wonthaggi hospital.

Amanda is literally putting her body on the line. She will swim 65 kilometres around Phillip Island. I have been roped in, and have agreed, to swim a little over 1,000 metres along the way with her. After I made this agreement, I was informed that she will be doing it in a shark cage and there is only room for one in the shark cage. So I am committed to swimming on the north side of the island not the south side, which is near the penguins and the seals and is famous for its great white sharks. Many of my colleagues have encouraged me to swim on the south side of the island; I feel that it is extremely unfair and ungenerous, and I will swim on the north side of the island!

But this is Amanda’s story and Amanda’s day, and she deserves the recognition. Her immediate concern is to seek a meeting with Minister Nicola Roxon, the health minister for the Commonwealth of Australia, to push the case for federal funding for Warley Hospital. We will also push the state government. I ask the minister to make time available, at a time of her convenience—we will be very flexible—and a place of her convenience, to support Amanda and Warley Hospital. (Time expired)