Page 1325 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 25 March 2009

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shoulder the additional burden of health care that can be much more effectively provided by GPs. But if there are no GPs and the hospitals are overburdened, where does that leave us? Where can people go to find adequate care?

The government, as has become usual practice, is hiding behind false promises and shallow media statements to deflect blame for the crisis. During the campaign last year, Ms Gallagher said: “There is no quick fix to the GP worker shortage. However, there are realistic and workable things we can do locally to respond.” If that is the case, why, five months after the election, are we still 60 GPs short when the rest of the nation has seen a growth in GP numbers? No matter how you rearrange business models or move clinics and doctors, there is no action from the government to stem the tide. They are happy to sit back and watch it go out.

I thought it was interesting when the federal minister for health, Nicola Roxon, joined the Chief Minister and Minister for Health to launch their GP package at the last election, because federal Labor has some form on this issue. Between 1983 and 1996, when the Australian population grew significantly, the number of GPs being trained was static, with approximately 1,200 graduating from Australian medical schools each year. That was when Australia’s population was around 14½ million and, when Australia’s population started to age and reached 18.5 million in 1996, the number of doctors trained was the same. A four million increase in the population saw no increase in the number of doctors being trained. There was some catching up to do.

The Howard government provided new funding and initiatives in 2005. Around 1,500 doctors were graduating, and this figure is expected to increase to up to 3,000 in a few years time. This was after working with the Australian Medical Workforce Advisory Committee. The Liberal Party has a record of working with the sector to ensure the best health care can be delivered.

What have we got to show for the last election from federal Labor? A failing health policy that seeks to centralise doctors when they are needed in local communities the most. And what have we got to show for the re-election of ACT Labor? Another day, another local GP clinic closing. If we are serious about the provision of health care, we need to be looking to the care at the primary care level and early intervention to reduce the burden on the system and use our healthcare resources effectively.

This is an issue that needs serious consideration to determine the root cause of the problem, a problem that sits squarely with the ACT government. We need to fix this problem. We need to encourage GPs to stay in the suburbs and remain an important and integral part of our community. I would urge all those who have an interest in the long-term health of our Canberra community to support this motion.

MS BURCH (Brindabella) (4.11): What surprises me most about this motion is that it comes from a party that, when it was last in power, actually closed down our free public bulk-billing clinics. Mr Coe made mention of federal policy. I ask him to go back to Minister Wooldridge’s days and see how he decimated and then restricted access to GP training places. Significant work was needed, and an increase in numbers, to come anywhere near the needed national GP numbers.


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