Page 1649 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 9 May 2018
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created to meet demand in the community are incredibly popular. I note that Minister Fitzharris spoke about them this morning but I too would like to talk about them.
Over the last 12 months the number of presentations to our nurse-led walk-in centres at Belconnen and Tuggeranong have grown by about eight per cent. This growth is increasing. They are an important alternative to visiting our busy emergency departments. They are very popular for less serious conditions and are open for longer hours to cover periods when people most often need care.
Only this week the Minister for Health and Wellbeing received a very positive endorsement of the value of the walk-in centre at Tuggeranong from a 90-year-old member of our community who tripped over in her garden and needed stitches near her eye. She said, “These clinics are a great alternative to spending hours at the hospital for the treatment of minor injuries. The nurses are obviously very experienced and know when referral to a doctor is necessary.”
Building on the success of these walk-in centres, the ACT government started constructing the new walk-in centre in Gungahlin in February this year, investing $2.9 million. This walk-in centre will be open later this year. Planning is underway for a new walk-in centre in Weston Creek to meet our rapidly growing community there.
Finally, as Minister Fitzharris has already spoken about today, we are well advanced in opening the third public hospital in Canberra with the construction of the University of Canberra hospital, a specialty centre for rehabilitation, recovery and research, completed.
They are just a few of the things that this government is continuing to deliver on. I look forward to the coming weeks and months when we will hopefully move forward, deliver on more things and progress the wonderful work that this Barr Labor government continues to do.
This city is a wonderful city. We live here; we love it; many of us grew up here. To see the changes and the continued investment in our city by the Barr Labor government is something that I am very proud of. I am proud to be standing in this place and to be able to talk about all of the wonderful things that we continue to do.
MR COE (Yerrabi—Leader of the Opposition) (11.11): Ms Cody’s motion today very broadly calls on the government to continue to provide the most basic functions and services that governments should be delivering. Of course, the opposition agrees in this role of government to provide essential services and to provide them well.
This government, like any government, should be spending money on the Canberra community. But they should be spending it wisely and they should not be over-taxing. There should be considerable funds dedicated to health, education, emergency services, transport, and community services—in effect, all the essential areas of government.
The concern the Canberra Liberals have is that this government continues to mismanage resources and fails to invest when and where funds are needed the most.
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