Page 3513 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 18 August 2010
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infrastructure fund, a development fund, that provides money—$1 million a year for the next four years—for payments to GP practices to support initiatives that attract staff, support existing staff or enable them to extend their facilities.
Of course, we are just about to get going with the new in-hours locum medical service for residents of aged care facilities. Again, that is supporting, I guess, the hospital and is an area that has been identified as a gap in some of our services for people who are in aged care facilities and who do not necessarily need to come to hospital but need access to primary care where they live. This service has been specifically tailored to meet that.
The commonwealth government also have funded an infrastructure fund similar to ours to support extensions to GP facilities. I note that, in Jeremy Hanson’s rejection of the $15 million, in his media release he put out rejecting the $15 million, he said that more money should be put in to support the training of student doctors and, potentially, extend their hours and their facilities, both of which are initiatives that we have sought to cover off in paying GPs to take on students—$300 a day if you take on a student in your practice now. I do not think that is done anywhere else in the country. Our infrastructure fund has been complemented by the commonwealth fund.
MR HANSON: Supplementary, Mr Speaker?
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Hanson.
MR HANSON: Minister, given that Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard delivered only three of the 35 GP superclinics that were promised at the last election—that is, at the rate of one a year—can we expect the GP superclinic in Canberra, based on that rate of delivery, to be delivered within the next 30 years?
MS GALLAGHER: I do not agree with the question—what a surprise. I think 25 of the 33 are finalised, under construction or finished. And it was always intended—
Mr Hanson: Under construction?
MS GALLAGHER: The truth hurts, Mr Hanson, but that is the truth. And then it is a five-year program. The money that has been allocated to the ACT, as I understand it, was appropriated in the previous federal budget, so that money is there.
As a community, instead of saying no to $15 million, Mr Hanson, what we need to do after the federal election—of course, we have to wait for that, because this might not go ahead if Abbott is elected as Prime Minister. Indeed, with his comments about Canberra today—about how real people do not actually live in the ACT; he wants to live where the real people live—my feeling, my sneaking suspicion, is that he will not think that we are entitled to $15 million for a GP superclinic either. But assuming that we proceed with federal Labor, my suggestion is that we as an Assembly—indeed, with all the stakeholders in the community—get together and work out the best use of this $15 million, get the application process signed off and get in as soon as we can.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary, Ms Porter?
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