Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We had some fantastic major announcements in the Solomon electorate last month: the location of the Medicare urgent care clinic, which is to be on Osgood Drive in Eaton, just next door to the ice-skating rink, and the successful tenderer for the 120- to 150-bed aged-care facility to serve Darwin, Palmerston and the Top End. The Albanese Labor government has also delivered a once-in-a-generation change to bulk-billing, which means that more Territorians can now see a doctor for free, with no out-of-pocket expenses. There are now 23 Medicare bulk-billing GP practices across Darwin and Palmerston. Over 70 per cent of all local GP practices are now registered as Medicare bulk-billing practices.

We also launched services like 1800MEDICARE, which is helping keep people out of emergency departments, and we have kept the PBS medicines at $25, saving Territorians real dollars. That's brilliant cost-of-living support. Add to this, record hospital funding for the Northern Territory, with $3.5 billion over the years from 2026-27 also being delivered.

We're also building the long-term health workforce, with the NT's own medical school at Charles Darwin, which opened last month, housed in a brand-new building called Garrwa, or the Centre for Better Health Futures. I thank Aunty Bilawara Lee for explaining that 'garrwa' means 'green tree frog' in the Larrakia language and that the site of the school is on the green tree frog Dreaming.

We have expanded mental health services, with the Darwin headspace centre upgraded to a headspace Plus and a youth specialist care centre in Darwin for young people with very complex needs. We are continuing to work with the Northern Territory government to strengthen maternity services, and I call on the Northern Territory government to stipulate that the new not-for-profit operator of Darwin's private hospital includes maternity services in their licence.

Like everywhere in this country, housing and homeownership is a challenge in my home town of Darwin, as it also is in Palmerston, so we were proud to announce support for more first home buyers from Darwin, Palmerston and a bit past there into the rural area to get into home ownership by increasing the property price gap for the five per cent home deposit scheme. From 1 July this year, two price caps will now operate in the Northern Territory, one for Greater Darwin, at $750,000, and the other for the remainder of the Northern Territory, which remains at $600,000, in line with mean property prices. The five per cent deposit scheme has already helped more than 1,800 Territorians move into their first home since we came into government.

As well, Territorians are cutting their energy bills by installing cheaper home batteries. Darwin residents are installing batteries at double the rate of Melbourne residents. Nearly 700 residents have taken up the government's support to take 30 per cent off the cost of a home battery, saving them around $2,300 per annum.

This government, the Albanese Labor government, is moving forward with the Scott Palmer Services Centre to support our Territory veterans and their families in the Darwin area who are experiencing or are at the risk of experiencing homelessness with transitional housing and assistance to find permanent housing solutions. The Salvation Army Northern Territory, the Salvos, have been approved to manage the grant and establish the centre. They are looking at a suitable complex of between three and six self-contained units that will be appropriate for housing veterans and located so that essential wraparound support can be provided to the tenants of the Scott Palmer centre, who, of course, will be our veterans.

I want to thank the Territory veterans from the Council of Australian Veterans NT that kicked off this project and put in countless hours of volunteer work. I just want to say to the members of CAV that your volunteer work is appreciated. Thank you very much. That $3 million for the Scott Palmer centre is now going to be with the Salvos to provide those services to our veterans. We say to them: thank you.

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