House debates

Tuesday, 30 November 2021

Constituency Statements

Bradfield Electorate: COVID-19

4:03 pm

Photo of Paul FletcherPaul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to acknowledge and celebrate the efforts by so many across my electorate of Bradfield in responding to the extraordinary challenge of the pandemic throughout 2021. I first want to acknowledge so many people across the electorate who rolled up their sleeves and went to get vaccinated at the earliest possible opportunity. I'm very proud of the fact that, by early November this year, three local government areas wholly or partly within my electorate—Hornsby, Ku-ring-gai and Willoughby—had all exceeded 90 per cent double-dose rates. Of course I want to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of our local healthcare professionals in so many ways. I acknowledge Dr Hiramanek and her team at the Roseville vaccination centre, where I personally was pleased to have two AstraZeneca shots. I know that many, many others in the electorate of Bradfield were pleased to be vaccinated at facilities, pharmacies and doctors' surgeries throughout the electorate. I acknowledge particularly Helen and Sabina at Lindfield Pharmacy, Kelly at Taylors Pharmacy in Turramurra and, of course, all of the other pharmacists and GPs across the electorate. I acknowledge our hospitals and institutions, particularly the SAN in Wahroonga and Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital. People in Bradfield can be very confident about the quality of medical care available to them at these widely respected institution.

I acknowledge our teachers and students who kept going through this very difficult period. I was struck one day when I joined two classes online, a year 9 science class at St Ives High School and a year 11 class at Barker College, by the way both the teacher and the students were interacting and getting on with their work in the unusual circumstances of doing lessons over Zoom. I thank all of the ancillary and other services that performed such a vital role. Meals on Wheels Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby continued to operate throughout pandemic ensuring that freshly cooked meals were delivered to senior Australians across the electorate in a COVID-safe manner. I want to thank manager Nick Eudale and his team of volunteers. They've delivered over 100,000 meals this year.

I thank our local SES units who've been on standby to deal with emergencies and challenges when needed. We know that 2021 has been a very difficult year, but across Australia, and certainly in my electorate of Bradfield, Australians have responded magnificently. We've got through this period of adversity, and I say thank you to all Australians, particularly those in my electorate of Bradfield.

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