Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health. Will the minister outline to the House how a stronger economy enables the government to invest in life-saving drug and alcohol support services? Is the minister aware of any contrary propositions that undermine the funding of health services in Queensland?

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Bonner, who comes to this place as somebody who achieved great things as a small-business person. He is a restauranteur, specialising in Italian food. I'd recommend the marinara! What he knows from his time both as a small-business person and in this House is you can't grow either a small business or an economy without a plan, without the ability to ensure that you are living within your means. And what he saw in his work and what we see in this government and in this economy right now is record growth because of the plan in jobs. And that record growth, that million jobs, allows us to invest in essential services, such as record funding for Medicare, with an extra $4.8 billion at the recent budget; record funding in mental health, with an extra $338 million; record funding for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, with major new drugs for breast cancer and spinal muscular atrophy being listed, as opposed to Labor's practice of failing to list drugs; and record funding for hospitals.

One of the things which I was able to see last week when I visited Caboolture in the seat of Longman and met with Trevor Ruthenberg—our extraordinary candidate, who's spent time in the Air Force, in the private sector and in the not-for-profit sector—was that he saw that the No. 1 health priority for the area was investing in drug and alcohol support services. That's why we invested $11 million, not to begin in one year, two years, three years, four years or five years but to begin immediately investing in drug and alcohol support for the people of Caboolture. In Caboolture and in the surrounding areas, ice was recognised by the Primary Health Network as the No. 1 task for assessing, dealing with and addressing going forwards. So we have responded, not just to the Primary Health Network, not just to the people of Caboolture but also to the advocacy of Trevor Ruthenberg—better known to the locals as 'Big Trev'.

This plan, Big Trev's big plan, for a better Caboolture is all about ensuring that we have drug and alcohol and ice support on the ground. And it's not waiting one, two, three or four years like Labor; it is dealing with the problem right now—immediately—with better support, detox facilities, demand facilities, day rehab and overnight facilities for the people of Caboolture.