Page 825 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 20 April 2021
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The other element of the context for this budget, the element that has driven that timing, is the response to COVID-19 and the impact of the global pandemic on all governments. The Chief Minister has touched on that. Two of the major health commitments in this budget relate specifically to the COVID-19 public health response. The government is continuing the COVID-19 response through the next phase of the pandemic in the coming 12 months. That initiative, which is worth about $26½ million over two years, will continue to support the whole-of-government response to the health emergency and will be funded as a cost-sharing arrangement between the commonwealth and the territory.
There is also, of course, more than $19 million over four years, plus almost $4½ million in capital, to deliver the COVID-19 vaccination program in line with the national strategy. It is anticipated that the costs associated with operating the vaccination clinics will be funded, or they are being funded, through a cost-sharing arrangement between the commonwealth and the territory, although we would always welcome more support from the commonwealth in relation to this very important national initiative.
The budget also reflects a number of other principles. One of those is the fact that we simply needed to fund continuity and growth in our health services. As we see our community, our population, continuing to grow, we see ongoing increased demand for our health services. The budget includes $6½ million to provide additional funding for acute medical, birthing and non-elective surgery services at Calvary Public Hospital in Bruce for this financial year. Calvary Public Hospital Bruce is a very important part of our public hospital system. It is critical that those on the north side continue to have access to high quality services as we continue to deliver quality health services across Canberra.
The budget also includes relatively business-as-usual investment in the upgrade and refurbishment of buildings at Canberra Hospital, including continuing the electrical upgrade works in Building 10 at Canberra Hospital. These works will support critical pathology and clinical research services. Of course, we are all very familiar with how absolutely vital our pathology services have been in response to COVID-19, but they are always absolutely important in terms of supporting both diagnosis and treatment of those in hospital and those in our community health services.
That is not the only capital investment in this budget; there is almost $350 million across the forward estimates in health portfolio infrastructure, including new facilities and IT infrastructure, the digital health record and refurbishing existing facilities. That does not include the Canberra Hospital expansion and the new critical services building which, as we all know, is the largest health infrastructure project undertaken in this city since self-government. The money for that is provisioned in the budget. We continue to work with our partner, Multiplex, through the development application process. People can expect the development application to come out for public comment in the next little while.
Just finishing on the relatively business-as-usual elements of this budget, I want to touch on what is a relatively small amount of money in the context of the health
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