Garth Hamilton (Groom, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Morrison government's commitment to health care in this country is rock solid. As part of the 2021-22 budget the Morrison government is investing $125.7 billion over the next four years into Medicare, an increase of over $6 billion from last year's budget. We support health care in this country and we put our money where our mouth is. We've heard Labor's scare tactics claiming to the contrary, and their claims are simply not true. They were not true in the past, and they are not true now. These changes we are making to rebates are based on the best medical advice, best medical practice, reflecting changes in modern medicine and expanding access to procedures and policies which did not previously attract rebates.

Throughout the pandemic this government has taken the exact same approach, we can all agree, to great success in Australia of following the best medical advice. As the Deputy Prime Minister tried to say today, there is no other country in the world you would rather be in than Australia. It is performing very, very well and it's thanks to the great work of the Australian people that we have done so. This government will continue to take the best medical advice. This means that when you present to a hospital, under these changes, you will have greater access to rebates for the procedures you need. We are increasing funding where it is needed and we do so following the best medical advice. This is especially true for residents in my electorate who might need orthopaedic treatment. We've added 162 new items and amended 280 items that needed updating to better reflect contemporary clinical practice; 137 items have been superseded where services have been consolidated; and nine items have been deleted, services considered now to be obsolete. All of this has happened in consultation with the relevant peak bodies following the best medical advice and is being progressively introduced. So this government's credentials on protecting and improving healthcare, protecting and improving Medicare are not in doubt.

But I'd like to see some scrutiny in the provision of health services in my region of Groom. In media reports just last week—in the Chronicle and on the local television—it was revealed the Toowoomba Hospital experienced three code yellows in eight days. This is not an unusual experience, unfortunately; it is, though, quite a dramatic one for our region, for those in need of care. This is the hospital that, earlier today in question time, I heard member for Oxley and other members opposite suggest was ready to bear the weight of a 1,000 person quarantine facility. This same hospital, three times in the last week, was above capacity. A code yellow declaration is a significant emergency when a hospital is above capacity and is unable to meet public demand. In these situations where there's a high level of demand for beds, the great health staff in Toowoomba are asked to focus on clinical priorities and discharge patients as quickly as possible. This is an extremely stressful situation for these hardworking health workers, and they should not be placed in this situation. They should have the tools they need to deliver the job they do.

The member for Toowoomba North, Trevor Watts, has been strongly advocating for a new hospital to meet this demand. He's been doing it for a long time. He is not new to this; he is true to this. He has been sticking to this for a long time because he knows this is what we need. He tells me the situation is so bad that minor surgery is now being sent to Brisbane because our facilities are at breaking point. This is the hospital that those opposite want to put a 1,000 person quarantine facility through. With one in nine people returning with a positive test, this is the hospital they want to put that through. This is not good enough for a regional centre.

The premier needs to make our new hospital the highest priority because the needs of our community are only increasing. I would point to the growth of Highfields, the region that has expanded incredibly over the last decade to 15 years and is now a city in itself bigger than Dalby. What was once just an outpost on the side of Toowoomba is now a significant city all of its own. It relies on Toowoomba Hospital as well. The new hospital is going to cost somewhere around $2 billion. That report, the full plans, business case were presented last year. It is nearly 12 months since they were delivered and presented. Two billion dollars is what we need to upgrade the Toowoomba Hospital. Today in the budget announcement, we got $4.9 million. We need $2 billion; we got 4.9. That's not good enough.

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