Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I regret having to do what I am now going to do. I will be tabling a petition calling on the government to help a struggling doctor in my electorate. More than 1,400 people have signed this petition. The petition has been considered by the Petitions Committee and has been found to be in order. And I say that I regret having to do this because when Dr Stephen Wilson first approached me it struck me that his particular problem was one that was going to be really quite easy to resolve, that once we drew this matter to the attention of the relevant minister the minister would take the action to resolve this issue and use her powers to provide an exemption so that this doctor could continue his practice. Unfortunately, two letters later and many, many more phone calls to the minister's office, we have not been able to get a single response. I think this is a grave dereliction of duty. As I said, I am very disappointed that this has become an issue where we have had to go out and agitate on this because it is a problem that is so eminently solvable.

Dr Stephen Wilson has operated a practice in Bassendean for more than 22 years. He is currently having great trouble finding a new doctor to come in and help him. His previous partner has had significant health issues, as Dr Wilson himself is beginning to experience, and the practice needs a new full-time doctor. But his practice is not one that is very attractive to the average GP because it is a very low-income practice. More than 70 per cent of the patients are bulk-billed, and the next 15 per cent are low-income people who are provided with a reduced fee for services, so it is not an attractive practice.

Dr Wilson has an overseas trained doctor—she is from Ireland—who is already in Australia and who is keen to come and work in his practice. But of course that doctor needs to be provided with a Medicare user capacity. International doctors can only be employed in areas where the state government has classified an Area of Need. I have spoken to the senior officials at the health department. They are very sympathetic; however, the state government cannot classify Bassendean as an Area of Need until the Commonwealth Department of Health grants a district workplace shortage status. So the state government wants to act, but it cannot because it has to wait until the federal government takes action.

The federal government has determined—and I understand these policies—that we are going to have some areas where we allow this and some where we do not allow it, but, by virtue of definition, Bassendean is considered, under this scheme, to be an inner urban area, although it is 12 kilometres from the CBD. It has an appalling GP ratio. It has a GP population ratio of one GP to 4,800 people. This is well below the state average, which is one GP for 1,500 people, and the national average, which is about one GP for 1,200 people. So here is a man who needs our help so that he can continue to provide medical services in his practice to some of the poorest people in my electorate and, indeed, in Perth. Under the legislation the minister has the power to provide an exemption to this definition, so it is not necessarily the case that, because this is defined as an inner metropolitan area, this cannot be done. For a very good reason, the minister is given the power to make an exemption. The minister is given the power to look at the practical circumstances of a case such as this and make an exemption. I call upon the minister to please consider this case—1,400 people have supported this. (Time expired)

Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The document will be forwarded to the Standing Committee on Petitions for its consideration. It will be accepted subject to confirmation by the committee that it conforms to the standing orders.