Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on a very important issue and to present a petition collected by the principal petitioner, Charles Edwards, with regard to the need for a Medicare office in the Pakenham community. I present that to the House.

I have only been in Pakenham for a very short 35 years, and have seen the community grow from 400 or 500 people to 27,000 people—one of the remarkable explosions of population that we have seen around the country in many seats such as mine. We have had huge growth patterns, particularly in outer metropolitan areas of our country. Previous governments and this government have acquiesced to provide services for those communities. They provide not only Medicare offices but they supply veterans’ offices, help for many other areas of their activities and of course they have Centrelink offices spread in a network right around this country.

But in two locations—Moe and Pakenham—we do not have a Medicare office. The demographic of the community is not a lot different to the demographics of other electorates. It has pensioners, it has carers that need carer payments and it has people that need government services; but they need them where they can access them. You can say, ‘Well, they can get on public transport and do that.’ But as you know very well, Madam Deputy Speaker—being a Melbournian yourself—the public transport in outer areas does not always connect directly with the public service they need to attend. That is why we have Red Cross support to help older people to travel, which is a very important service.

However, because of this massive growth of population, the lack of public transport and the fact that the service that is provided is at Fountain Gate some 20-odd kilometres away, there is a real case for this. I congratulate Charles Edwards and his wife for making the effort to get this massive number of signatures with regard to this very special need in the Pakenham area.

The petition reads as follows—

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives

This petition of residents of Pakenham and surrounding district in the state of Victoria, Electoral Division of McMillan, draws to the attention of the House:

(1)

The lack of a Medicare Office in the Pakenham community and the hardship this imposes on local residents.

(2)

At the 2001 Census Pakenham had a population of 17,397 in 2006 that population had grown to 27,787. Since the year 2001, population growth within Pakenham has accounted for nearly 90% of the total growth experienced in Cardinia Shire.

(3)

There is a significant proportion of the population in receipt of pensions, carers’ allowances and parenting payments who need to access Medicare refunds in a more timely manner

(4)

The nearest Medicare offices are Fountain Gate and Warragul and with the increase in new housing estates in both Pakenham and Officer the demands on these offices will be significant.

We therefore ask the House to do all in its power to ensure that a Medicare Office be located in the township of Pakenham:

from 5,155 citizens.

Petition received.