Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The appropriation bills provide a great opportunity to step back and take a look at how this government, the Albanese government, is delivering on the commitments we've made across vital portfolios—health, education, social services, climate change and energy—and the cost-of-living assistance that we have been able to deliver.

In my own electorate of Macquarie, I want to start with our Hawkesbury urgent care clinic, which is up and running in Kable Street, Windsor. This is something our community wanted; thousands of people signed my petition to get a Hawkesbury urgent care clinic. The data backed up the need for it, too, to ease the pressure on the busy Hawkesbury District Hospital, where around 42 per cent of presentations in 2024-25 were for semi-urgent or non-urgent conditions.

Now, we know how useful the urgent care clinic is turning out to be. I've had the privilege of visiting it and I look forward to the official opening of it next week. But it's already up and running, and people like Jenny are writing to me about it. These are her words from an email:

I had told my family the details of the Urgent Care Clinic and they saw Facebook posts. Yesterday. My great granddaughter suffered an accidental face plant resulting in a cut lip. The parents took her to Hawkesbury Hospital, were seen straightaway by a triage nurse but the wait time was not pretty for a distressed one year old. So they took her to the Urgent Care Clinic in Windsor, were seen immediately, were reassured and back home before normal bedtime with a happy little girl. What a great outcome for all.

I agree with Jenny. This is a great outcome and this is exactly the kind of urgent-but-not-life-threatening situation that urgent care clinics are there for. I'm so glad our Hawkesbury community has the service now, with other urgent care clinics also located in Penrith to service the Lower Blue Mountains part of my electorate and in Rouse Hill for other parts of the Hawkesbury.

The other really important health change that we have made and funded is the new endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic for the Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network. I want to talk about this clinic and the difference it makes in women's lives. It's particularly pertinent to be talking about it, because we are in Endometriosis Awareness Month. The Winmalee Medical Centre opened our endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic in recent weeks, and again I am looking forward to the official opening of that coming up. I held an endo high tea for Endometriosis Awareness Month at the weekend, and we heard from Practice Manager Leanne, GP Doctor Lakshmi and Nurse Navigator Kaylene about how the intake process would work and the referral pathways that they're developing up and down the mountains, across towards Penrith and including into the Hawkesbury for the whole range of endometriosis and pelvic pain treatments that may be required to meet women's needs and support them through what is a very difficult condition.

As my constituent Rachel wrote to me:

I wanted to reach out and let you know how encouraged I am by your continued efforts in this area. It took 20 years for me to get the Endo diagnosis that shocked my doctors, and did not at all surprise anyone else. I'm so glad to see the progress in this space and to see women being diagnosed younger and younger.

In fact, one of the questions that came up at our endo high tea was, 'How old do you have to be to seek help?' The answer is that there's no age limit—no bottom limit, no top limit. These endometriosis pelvic pain clinics also offer menopause support. This is one place where women who have experienced challenges over many years or who are just experiencing challenges now can go and get expert help. I really commend the attitude that Winmalee Medical Centre is taking. It recognises that it's on a big learning curve and it is also going to have a role at uplifting the skills and understanding of GPs right across the primary health network.

Both the urgent care clinic and the endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic are exactly the kind of practical outcome that makes a real difference to residents across Macquarie, but another measure that's making a very big difference is the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and prescription medicines being set at a maximum of $25 a script. We've also frozen the cost at $7.70 for concession card holders, and, of course, that lasts till the end of the decade. For stable health conditions, the 60-day prescriptions are a convenient and cost-effective pathway for patients. We've also added new PBS listings for a wide range of medications and conditions—contraceptives, menopausal hormone therapies, prostate cancer treatments, Parkinson's disease treatments and things for neuroblastoma, endometrial cancer, cystic fibrosis and melanoma, just to name a few. These are things that make a tangible difference to people's lives and make a huge difference to their cost of looking after themselves.

Continuing on the health deliverables we've had, we've got 1800MEDICARE. That means you can ring a free 24/7 helpline where you speak to a registered nurse about any health condition. I've used this service. I needed some advice before I jumped on a plane to Perth, and the nurse was able to talk to me about my symptoms, guide me through the right steps—the most sensible things I could do. So whether it's looking after yourself at home, getting help from a health service in your area or just getting advice before you hit the road, 1800 MEDICARE is there. You can also access key health information, electronic prescriptions and more through the 1800MEDICARE app, all on your phone. These are things that the Albanese government believes in, because we know that your health is the first step to being able to really fulfil the potential of your life. It is an absolutely fundamental need.

One of the things that drove me to politics was a desire to see improvements in the way mental health issues are treated. I am very pleased that we have been able to establish much greater access to mental health services, and I want to take a moment to talk about some of those. I want to start with the Medicare mental health centre that is already operating in Richmond, and the one in Penrith, which provides walk-in support without a referral or mental health treatment plan being needed. This appropriation bill covers our expansion of this service. We're expanding these walk-in Medicare mental health centres, and I want to point out that many of them are open six or seven days a week; they're not confined to Monday to Friday, nine to five, because anyone who knows anything about mental health challenges knows that they rarely happen Monday to Friday, nine to five. The times where support and action is needed are often outside those times.

So we're expanding into digital support, with the Medicare Mental Health Check In. Now, when people first start thinking about getting support for mental wellbeing, it's really easy just to have a picture of long appointments, big emotional conversations or really complex therapy. For some people, that's exactly what's needed. But for others, especially when they're just starting to see symptoms, a more practical kind of and immediate sort of help can make a difference. That's where the Medicare Mental Health Check In starts. It offers a starting point for better wellbeing, giving people some straightforward everyday skills to help them feel steadier, more supported and more in control. And it is up and running now. You don't need a diagnosis or a referral. You don't even need to know exactly how you're feeling. You just need to be finding things tougher than usual.

This is a free national service that offers early support for people who are beginning to experience mental health concerns or symptoms. It's designed to be really easy to access, so there is no need for a referral, for a diagnosis or even to explain what's wrong. You can dig into trusted information—everyday tools. You can see real stories from people with different backgrounds and experiences. What's really significant is that, from the end of March, the service offers programs that will take around six weeks that you can work through over that time with a trained mental health practitioner who will focus on ways to cope with common challenges.

So we've got the first level of that. This next level comes in at the end of March. Then, from late May, self-guided programs will also be available, allowing people to participate in structured modules on their own with support available if they want it. The service focuses on helping people cope with stress, anxiety, worry, panic or low mood, and it's based on a very safe and evidence based approach called cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT. That's something that many psychologists use in their counselling sessions. It's recognised for its effectiveness in helping manage symptoms and regain a sense of control. This is a really key next step in our objective to enable people to receive free mental health support when they need it and where they need it. For young people needing mental health support, we have headspace centres. In my electorate they're in Hawkesbury, Penrith—just outside the electorate but still handy—and Katoomba, supporting young people and family to be mentally healthy and engaged in their communities.

While I'm speaking of young people, one of the big changes that has come in and alleviated a lot of stress for a lot of people, particularly young people, is a cut to student debt. More than 3.2 million Australians have now had their student debt cut by 20 per cent. Whether you call it HECS or FEE-HELP, in total, the Albanese government has cut more than $16 billion in student debt. The ATO has sent more than 2.8 million messages notifying people of their cut. The average student debt was $27,600, and we took $5,500 off that. This will help students as they plan for their future. It'll help former students as they're establishing their post-student lives. Less debt gives them a firmer foundation on which to build those lives.

From student debt cut being cut to prac placement payments and programs like free TAFE and the Key Apprenticeship Program, we are backing Australians to get the skills they need for the jobs that we need. Apprenticeships in the clean energy sector, for instance, are on the rise, with more than 17,000 apprentices choosing careers in new energy industries such as solar, automotive and smart technology. We have signed up thousands of construction thanks to our Key Apprenticeship Program. In the first six months of the program, launched in July last year, 11,400 apprentices have commenced in the housing construction trades under the program. In New South Wales it's 2,273 apprentices in that first six months.

The program helps apprentices start and finish training in that critical skills area that we need so we can keep building more homes. Apprentices participating in the program receive $10,000 over the course of their apprenticeship to assist with costs such as tools, equipment and fuel. If people are wondering whether they have a family member who might be interested in it, go searching for it. It's called the Key Apprenticeship Program. The top three housing construction occupations for commencements under the program are carpenters and joiners, plumbers and electrical trades workers, alongside other occupations like glaziers, plasterers, bricklayers and concreters. These are fantastic ways to incentivise young people and get them training up in the areas that we know we need them most.

I want to finish by touching on the clean energy part of our Labor government commitment. Clean energy businesses are busier than ever, with over 2,000 homes and small businesses across Macquarie benefiting from our Cheaper Home Batteries Program. Around the country, it's well over a quarter of a million cheaper home batteries. This program not only helps people reduce their power costs and store their energy; it also means less pressure on the grid at peak times, lower reliance on expensive generation and downward pressure on prices for everybody. Along with the community batteries that are up and running in Blaxland, Blaxland East and Hobartville, these are really helping shift our system and helping people tackle the cost of living.

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