Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Unlike the member for Paterson, I congratulate this government on its long-term and short-term attempts to tackle some of the health issues in this country, and none more so than in Braddon. I would remind the member for Paterson that it was his government that intervened directly in a hospital in my electorate. If you were so concerned, how come it was not in your electorate? The reason is, mate, that it was not marginal enough; but it is now. So you ought to go and do your job, instead of moaning about everyone else! I would like to discuss a very positive thing that is happening in my electorate of Braddon. I would like to congratulate the government on the commencement of rolling out the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program, which the member from Paterson and his constituents will benefit from.

First and foremost, there will be more than $800,000, and I would like to share the details with you, Madam Deputy Speaker. There will be $235,000 going to the Burnie Council, on top of earlier funding by the Commonwealth, for the Cooee Indoor and Outdoor Bowls Centre. I know they are very grateful to this government for investing in this vital community infrastructure. Only yesterday I announced $277,000 for the Circular Head Council and $339,000 for the Wynyard Waratah Council for ready-to-go local infrastructure projects. The Circular Head Council will receive this funding to deliver important local projects, including the extension and upgrade of the East Duck River Foreshore Trail, the West Esplanade Trail and the West Esplanade Foreshore Park. I hope that when anyone in this chamber visits the north-west coast of Tasmania they get an opportunity to go to Circular Head to experience this beautiful part of the country and to see how these projects will add to very important community infrastructure and amenities. As well as the funding announced for Circular Head, $277,000 will go to the Wynyard Waratah Council for extensions to the Somerset Foreshore Walkway and the East Wynyard Walkway, again adding to the tremendous social and community amenities and at the same time offering employment and skills development opportunities to our local communities at this time of increasing difficulty in our economy.

I would also like to congratulate the Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot, who visited the electorate and, after much positive lobbying, inaugurated a regional project that we hope will be a model we can share with other regional centres throughout Australia in order to develop better ways of integrating services and staffing in our community based aged-care centres. The minister was kind enough to offer funding to support this. We are now working through a scoping study to draw up a tender for someone to come and investigate ways that not-for-profit community aged-care facilities can work together better to tackle this issue. It is a particularly difficult one for community based aged-care centres because, unfortunately, the outgoings do not match the revenue. This issue will become more and more difficult and it is something we all have to face. This project will be one way of trying to share with other regions throughout Australia in tackling that problem. I thank the minister for that most innovative and supportive program.

Finally, I would like to share the details of an absolutely super-duper program in my electorate called Kommunity Kids. Up in the Shorewell area of Burnie, times are relatively difficult for the community. Constable Ian Edwards, from the Western District Early Intervention and Youth Action Unit, has put together a program attracting kids in Shorewell to share activities and to work with and through the police and other agencies to enjoy themselves. I was lucky enough to be able to contribute some Australian cricket gear that was given to us for them and their activities. They do a fantastic job. They have barbecues. Kids trust the police and the police trust them, and it is interesting how it has affected behaviour in the area. I congratulate Ian Edwards and the Kommunity Kids program.