Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. How will the National Broadband Network and the government’s e-health investment improve the delivery of health care for all Australians?

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Blair for his question, because in his electorate, where he has both urban and rural constituents, they will benefit significantly from the broadband network, being able to access e-health services into the future. This investment in the National Broadband Network will actually mean that we are capable of things in the health system that have not been delivered before. The infrastructure that is being built is going to provide universal, reliable and superfast broadband to homes, schools and hospitals. This is going to make the system capable of developing nationwide e-health services like telemedicine, online consultations, electronic health records, coordinated care and online health education. In the member for Blair’s seat the potential for being able to link, for example, Ipswich Hospital with far flung services and communities to the west of Ipswich is going to change the way health care can be delivered into the future. It will allow, for example, in-home monitoring and care for the elderly. It will allow long-distance emergency intervention and remote care using video communications.

You do not need to just take the government’s word for this. Have a look at other commentators and their views about what the National Broadband Network will do for the health system. Access Economics reports that telehealth in Australia will deliver between $2 billion and $4 billion of benefits each and every year, especially for the elderly and rural and remote communities. We can look at the member for Bradfield in The Wired Brown Land. He says—

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Fletcher interjecting

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is unusual to interject when you are actually being quoted from and the member for Bradfield probably will want to hear this. He said in his book:

Equally importantly, there would be a continuing ferment of innovation. With multiple service providers able to deliver services over the new network, there would be new ideas emerging all the time, including many attractive choices which are not available today.

You can look at the National Information and Communications Technology report, where they say that the NBN will provide a unique opportunity to catalyse change in the way that health care is provided. In fact, they go so far as to say that we have the opportunity to use the NBN as a catalyst to jump-start Australia into a leading position in telehealth care. Why would you stand in the way of that? Listen to Steven Love, a pharmacist who is an NBN customer in Tasmania. He says:

The NBN will provide huge potential for lots of new applications, especially in health, which are of an interest to me being a pharmacist.

It is time for the opposition to listen to the community instead of continuing to campaign, as they did in the election, to scrap e-health, to close GP superclinics and to not support GP after-hours services. The benefits and potential of health care being delivered through the National Broadband Network are enormous and it is about time the opposition started to listen to the community.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not normally feel bad closing question time but, as I understand it, under the new standing orders and arrangements which we talked about, question time does end at 3.30. But I will await the member for New England’s question on Monday. I am sure it is going to be a humdinger. With those words, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.