Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

A constituent of mine recently wrote to me about her elderly father. In just one week, at Fairfield Hospital, she watched his wound deteriorate to a shocking degree. She was very clear that this wasn't the fault of the nurses. They're doing everything they can, but when you don't have proper staffing ratios or enough support on the floor, everyone suffers—patients and staff alike. When vulnerable people are left without basic care and dedicated health workers are burning out, that's not just a staffing hiccup; that is a policy failure. She knows the system is broken. She sees that the nurses are overworked and underpaid, but knowing the reason doesn't make it less unacceptable.

Things need to change now. We love to talk about Australia's universal health, and we should be proud of Medicare. But, for families in south-west Sydney, especially in Fowler, that promise is slipping away. I hear the government making announcements as if they've solved health care. They point to new urgent care clinics like they are a magic wand for chronic disease and the doctor shortage. In Fowler people are being admitted to the hospital at higher rates for things like diabetes, asthma and heart failure—conditions that could be managed in the community if we actually had enough GPs and the right ongoing support. This isn't just about a spreadsheet or ribbon-cutting ceremonies. It's about people. We need more than just bricks-and-mortar announcements. We need the doctors and nurses who actually do the healing.

The government says the number of GPs, nationally, is up. National figures don't mean much if you can't find a doctor in south-western Sydney. In Fowler we have roughly one GP for every 917 people. Meanwhile, in the Prime Minister's own seat or in wealthier suburbs, it's closer to one for every 700 residents. A surplus of doctors in wealthier postcodes does nothing for a community like mine that is carrying a much heavier burden of chronic disease. We have to move past one-size-fits-all policy. Equity doesn't mean treating every postcode exactly the same; it means recognising where the need is greatest and actually doing something about it. That is why today I'm calling for something very specific: that Fowler be given a special workforce category, just like rural and remote communities under the Modified Monash Model. If the government can recognise that rural Australia needs extra incentives to attract doctors and nurses, then it must also recognise that places like Fowler, with high disadvantages, high chronic disease and low GP numbers, need the same level of priority. The needs in Fairfield are not like the needs in Fairlight.

Fowler should be formally classified as a priority area for workforce incentives. This would mean that doctors and nurses who choose to work in our community receive additional loadings, scholarships, training placements and long-term support, just as they would if they went to a rural town. We need Monash thinking applied to communities like mine. If the need is greater, the incentives must be greater too. So, instead of the government using this green card as a talking point, calling it a plan, I'm calling on them to actually redesign workforce incentives. Give Fowler a special category and take the health of this nation seriously. This card here is a promise. But, for families in Fowler, it's a promise that isn't being kept. A piece of plastic doesn't provide care—people do.

Today I'm calling on the government to look past the symbols and start fixing the system. Redesign the workforce incentives and give Fowler the priority status it deserves. If the need is greater in our community, then the investment must be greater too. The government must end the health care lottery. Health investment is critical for the health of Australians, but especially for those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. We are looking for the same access to a doctor that the Prime Minister's own neighbours enjoy. For this card to work, our health system must be reformed to make it equally accessible and targeted to those in need.

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