Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

I also want to rise to acknowledge the work, career and life of the Hon. Douglas Everingham. As the current incumbent in the role, I understand and recognise the challenges which come with managing a national health system and remembering that it's always about the patients and their access to doctors and nurses and to medicines, and then, when necessary, to the hospitals, to mental health support and to the medical research which makes so much possible and available. Doug Everingham started his working life as a doctor. He lived a long life of 94 years—he obviously practised his own medicine, as it were! When he graduated from the University of Sydney in 1946, he spent the best part of 20 years in practice before entering parliament in 1967 and running through to 1984, with a two-year break between 1975 and 1977.

Of course, his principal work was as health minister, and, as health minister, there are perhaps four things for which he can and should be best remembered. Firstly, he was one of the early pioneers in recognition of mental health as an important public medical issue. It had been buried for so long, over so many decades, and it began to emerge in the 1970s, and his work in the public health space as a health minister who wanted to acknowledge it is an important part of Australia's medical history. It is critical that we acknowledge all those who have taken the steps forward on that front.

Secondly, he was one of the early instigators and architects of a comprehensive national medical insurance scheme—what was originally Medibank; it's now Medicare. It's something to which I'm committed and the Prime Minister's committed and on which there's now very clear bipartisan support.

Thirdly, of course, in many ways what might be the single thing of greatest personal pride was that he was one of the founders of Westmead Hospital. His contribution to establishing Westmead and the seed grants is critical. Westmead is, I think, now one of the great not just Australian but international hospitals. I've had the privilege to visit Westmead in my current role, and to see this hospital in action is to see something which began 40 years ago but which has grown and manifested itself into being a centre for children's health, mental health, chronic disease and extraordinary medical research and surgical capability.

Lastly, I want to acknowledge his work in what was really an early advocacy and an unfashionable advocacy in the fight against tobacco and what was a critical moment in Australian history. The fight against lung cancer has been going on for decades. It took people of courage in positions of authority to do that, and Doug Everingham was one of those people. I acknowledge him, I acknowledge his family and I'm happy to speak on a truly bipartisan basis.

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