Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

And so you should be! Thank you, Mr Deputy President. It is important for the Australian community and, in particular, the Tasmanian community to have their voices heard in this place. I am talking about the huge injection of funds into the Launceston General Hospital and what it is going to mean to all Tasmanians and, in particular, those in the north of the state. In fact, some $40 million has been allocated to enhance the services that are already provided by the Launceston General Hospital. What that means to the local people is that there will be better services. There has been an injection of money to attract nurses back into the field. Because of the neglect of the Howard government in terms of skilling, we are trying to ensure, as a responsible government would, that we have more GPs and doctors trained. We are trying to ensure that we have an environment where nurses want to continue in the workforce and where those who leave the workforce to have a family will have an enticement and an inducement to come back into this very important area.

In relation to promises and election commitments, I think it is a bit rich for the other side to lecture us, after 18 months in government, on not delivering on election commitments. When we talk about the buck stopping with Kevin Rudd, yes it does. But this week we are seeing the buck stop with Eric Abetz and Malcolm Turnbull.