Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Solomon for his question. He, probably alone in this House with the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, has the closest interest in the way that we are going to continue with the previous government’s intervention. I do think it is important to be able to put on the record in this House that we intend to make sure that the previous government’s intervention does turn into providing lasting change in the health sector—in particular for our Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. I know that the chamber is well aware of the child health checks which have been and are continuing to be undertaken. As of yesterday, 6,199 checks have now been undertaken. We are committed to honouring the $100 million that was committed by the previous government over the next two years to improve primary health care and health workforce provision in the Territory. But we are also committed to so much more than the previous government ever put in. We promised in the election to support more Indigenous health services and we are going to deliver on those. We are already taking steps to deliver on those, from the $260 million for early childhood education and maternal nursing services through to an extra $50 million in alcohol treatment services that were announced just last week, of which $8 million is directed towards the Northern Territory. All these commitments and many more are about us getting down to work, rolling up our sleeves and delivering the services where they are needed.

I would also like to provide to the House some information about the follow-up services that are being provided as a result of the checks that have been done for children in the Northern Territory and to reaffirm our determination to make a real difference to the health outcomes for Indigenous children. The House might be interested to know that from an analysis of the children’s health checks—the first 4½ thousand—35 per cent of children have been referred to further primary health care services, a big chunk of those already being provided by existing services; 27 per cent of children have been referred for dental care; 10 per cent of children have been referred to a paediatrician; and 7.8 per cent of children have been referred to specialist ear, nose and throat services.

I want to take the time to go through how those services are being provided because it is interesting that in the two areas where there is the most demand for follow-up care—primary care and dental care—the Rudd Labor government has already made significant additional commitments and these are also the areas where the previous government totally dropped the ball. The Leader of the Opposition and the member for Warringah have already admitted on the record that workforce shortages were the fault of early decisions of the Howard government. And we know—in fact members have been reminding us today—that the Howard-Costello government cut funding to dental care. I want to deal with this issue.

See this speech in context