Emma Husar (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Associate Professor Patrick Cregan AM was a brilliant surgeon, teacher and natural leader. He was a passionate advocate and a dedicated father, husband, friend and colleague. In January this year, Lindsay lost a great asset to our community, a man who dedicated his life to medicine.

There are many things I could talk about when it comes to Dr Cregan. Being a brilliant surgeon is one; being a tireless advocate for equity in health care is another. He was trained to save lives and improve patient outcomes. He was not trained to fight for a higher health budget funding allocation or advocate for a tired, always under-resourced and overlooked hospital. That was the additional gift he gave to the people of our community: he was painfully aware of the pressures faced by the hospital, so he was outspoken and innovative in his approach to get coverage so that people in places like this knew the struggles were real. He never, ever stopped fighting.

He had wins on the board with his tireless dedication to Nepean Hospital, but, sadly, the fight for our hospital continues in his absence. Today we still campaign for better, more adequate funding of Nepean Hospital. His endless commitment to the hospital will be honoured in this place for as long as I represent my community of Lindsay. Our hospital is in a dire state, with a complete lack of acknowledgement by the O'Farrell, Baird and Berejiklian state Liberals, and the Abbott-Turnbull federal Liberals.

I wish to thank Pat for his dedication to our community, and I offer his family—Suzanne, Rebecca, James, Edward, Thomas, Isabel, Charlotte, Louisa, Louie and Lillian—my sincere condolences and thank you for sharing Patrick with us and for the sacrifices this must have meant for you as a family. I hope Labor's continued advocacy, and mine, following on from your father's dedication, is of some comfort in honouring the tireless work he undertook for our area. May he rest in peace. (Time expired)