Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 5 July it will be one year since my community on the Central Coast of New South Wales saved Wyong Hospital from privatisation. It was a huge victory for our community. It was a victory for everyone in our community who needs quality, affordable local health care. It was a victory for the thousands of people who rallied and petitioned and travelled to state parliament to make their voices heard. It was a victory for the dedicated people who work in Wyong Hospital. I know how hard they work; I used to be one of them. It was a victory for the people who, over decades, raised money to help build Wyong community hospital so it could serve our local community. I acknowledge the efforts of our state member for Wyong, David Harris, and his colleagues in state parliament David Mehan, Liesl Tesch and Yasmin Catley, and the unions who stood shoulder to shoulder with our community: the HSU, the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives' Association, Unions NSW, the Central Coast Community Union Alliance and ASMOF.

The New South Wales Liberals were forced to backflip on their plan to privatise Wyong Hospital and have now been forced to do the right thing and fund a much-needed redevelopment. They have allocated $30 million in this year's budget, but $200 million is needed for this project. It's a start, but the fight's not over yet. The Turnbull government has backed away from its commitment to public hospitals. The states will have to pay more or services will be cut. Only Labor will invest the $2.8 billion needed to properly fund public hospitals across Australia. Only Labor is committed to public hospitals.