Page160 - Week 01 - Thursday, 3 December 2020
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The app also contains the COVID screening tool for those who visit our hospital and health centres. It is a really great app—another example of our Digital Solutions Division in the ACT Health Directorate really leading the way when it comes to digital health solutions.
MR BRADDOCK: Minister, when does the government intend to open a walk-in centre in south Tuggeranong, an issue close to my heart?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mr Braddock for the supplementary question. The ACT government has committed to an additional five walk-in health centres across the city, bringing that health care closer to home, and one of those is, indeed, in south Tuggeranong. We will work very closely with the communities of these five regions, including in south Tuggeranong, to understand what services should be available in each centre, with a focus on preventive health services to keep our community healthy and to prevent avoidable hospital admissions.
The network of centres will be somewhat different from the walk-in centres that people have become used to. This is about both providing walk-in and appointment-based services, providing that holistic care where the focus is on prevention, early intervention and the management of chronic illness in our community.
That is why we have committed to the five walk-in centres as part of our strategy to deliver a more integrated healthcare system, working with general practice, working across our acute-care system, working with our non-government and community partners to deliver integrated health care, closer to home, right across Canberra, including south Tuggeranong.
Building—quality
MR PARTON: My question is to the Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction. Minister, last July, the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Tourism reported on its inquiry into building quality. Among its findings, it recommended the establishment of a dedicated building commissioner as an independent office to ensure compliance with building standards and the Building Code. Minister, why are you rejecting the considered advice of the EDT committee for an independent watchdog after it put so much effort into researching and developing its recommendations?
MS VASSAROTTI: I thank Mr Parton for the question. As noted, we did provide a government response to the inquiry report yesterday. I thank members of the inquiry for a really useful report that contained 48 recommendations. Mr Parton refers to recommendation 3, around establishing a building commissioner as an independent statutory officer. We absolutely agree that there is a need for an independent statutory officer. In fact, there is already an independent statutory officer in the Construction Occupations Registrar. They deal with many of the issues that were identified in the recommendations, including audits, enforcing site inspections and managing licence compliance for practitioners. They also have an education role and extend beyond just building codes and standards; they include plumbing, gasfitting, gas appliances, electrical work, energy efficiency assessments and other related work.
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