Louise Markus (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take great pleasure in advising the House of a wonderful outcome achieved for the local community in the electorate of Macquarie, an electorate that encompasses the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury. In February this year I stood in this place and introduced a petition signed by 2,274 wonderful people who wanted to raise awareness of the decision to remove access to critical health services. I speak of the removal of mobile breast-screening units in Richmond and Springwood.

I was first alerted to the closure of the mobile service operating from Richmond and Springwood by a constituent who lives at Colo Heights. This constituent was unable, due to circumstances beyond her control, to make it to established clinics and as such the Richmond mobile breast unit was ideally located and easily accessible for her.

I investigated why the service was removed and found that mobile services in places like Springwood and Richmond were removed in 2009 and replaced with screening units set up in select Myer department stores, with the closest units located at Blacktown, Penrith and Lithgow. All those locations require either public transport or access to a car, which seniors and carers do not always have. While that option may be suitable for some women, it certainly was unhelpful for others. Rises in the cost of living place additional pressure particularly on pensioners and women who are already fighting breast cancer.

One in nine New South Wales women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Many of us know someone who has been touched by cancer, whether it be a parent, a grandparent, a daughter or a friend. It is so important to make access to services such as breast screening easier rather than more difficult. The reason for removing the mobile-screening service was to cut costs. That decision clearly demonstrates how little value the then state Labor government placed on women's health. That is why I launched the petition urging the then government to return mobile breast-screening services to my local community.

I would like to thank my local community in the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury for supporting that petition. Women, sons and husbands signed up and joined the fight. It was an issue that had to be fought for. Together with local women and their families we fought. I am able to say today that we did win. I am pleased to inform the House that the New South Wales Breast Cancer Institute has announced that mobile breast-screening services will be returned to Springwood and to the Hawkesbury. The announcement states that two new mobile vans with state-of-the-art digital mammography equipment have been designated to service Greater Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains. It is anticipated that the first van will be ready in November. It is scheduled to visit the Hawkesbury later this year. It will start visiting Springwood early in 2012 for an extended period.

This is wonderful news for women who already have suffered from breast cancer and women of all ages who need to access this important service. This is an outstanding result and shows that the community can make a difference when it pulls together. I want to commend the decision to return the mobile breast-screening service. I thank all those who joined with me in making women's health across the Hawkesbury, the Blue Mountains and Greater Western Sydney a health priority.

I also want to acknowledge the local media—namely, the Hawkesbury Gazetteand the Blue Mountains Gazette, which covered on a number of occasions the launch of the petition, the signing of the petition, my speech in parliament and the tabling of the petition. I also want to acknowledge the Penrith Star. These three local papers drew attention to this matter. They acknowledged the significance of women's health and in particular their fight to identify and gain treatment for breast cancer. I thank all the local community who signed the petition. This is truly a great result that I am able to announce tonight.