Tracey Roberts (Pearce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

() (): The incorporated speech read as follows—

Thank you Deputy Speaker

Today I would like to celebrate some truly exciting steps forward for health services in the northern suburbs in my electorate of Pearce. Our community continues to grow at an incredible pace, and with that growth comes a clear and urgent need for more accessible, local health care.

For years—including during my time as Mayor of the City of Wanneroo—I have been advocating for more local health services for our fast-growing suburbs. The communities of Two Rocks, Yanchep, Eglinton, Alkimos, Jindalee, and Butler make up one of the largest and fastest-growing regions in Australia.

This enormous growth continues to place pressure on the Joondalup Health Campus, and with the large, expanding, east Wanneroo development now taking shape, that pressure will only increase.

Since becoming the federal member for Pearce, I have secured the government's support for urgent care clinics in Clarkson and Yanchep, and have worked closely and diligently with Edith Cowan University and Professor Cobie Rudd to help bring new medical facilities to Yanchep east and west. These projects are not just announcements—they are real, tangible commitments to meeting the growing needs of our community.

As a longstanding member of the Joondalup Health Campus Community Board of Advice, I have seen firsthand the increasing demand on services.

Even back in 2019, Premier Roger Cook—then Minister for Health—acknowledged that additional facilities were needed in the northern suburbs, particularly around Yanchep. The demand we see today confirms that urgency more than ever.

We live in a beautiful and thriving part of Western Australia, but when local children are turned away from sports clubs because there are simply too many players, it's a sign that our infrastructure—including health facilities—must keep up.

Since my own diagnosis with multiple system atrophy, a rare neurological condition, I have become even more determined to fight for improved health access for every person in our electorate. I know what it means to rely on care that's close, comprehensive, and compassionate. That's why I will continue to fight tooth and nail to deliver the health services Pearce deserves.

During my time as mayor, our 'connect Wanneroo' advocacy helped bring forward essential projects—the Yanchep Rail Extension, the Mitchell Freeway Extension, the dualling of Marmion Avenue, and now, as your federal member, the Alkimos Aquatic and Recreation Centre. I fully understand that the same level of urgency and determination is to be applied to health facilities across Pearce.

So today, as we celebrate the new radiology service in Alkimos, the endometriosis clinic in Joondalup, the new health buildings at ECU, and the upcoming urgent care clinic in Yanchep—let's be proud, as these are fantastic additions on our journey towards a future hospital in Yanchep.

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