Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Wednesday I attended an event here at Parliament House along with other members of parliament. It was the Heywire event, an ABC Radio event that is done in partnership with the Australian government. It provides a platform for the ideas, aspirations and stories of regional youth. It is a wonderful initiative and it has the support of all members of this place—and you can see that by the attendance. I had the occasion to be with Brittany Armstrong, who is from Casino, in my seat of Page. Brittany is a year 12 student at Casino High and she won with her story about speedway racing—a bit unusual but something that a lot of people follow and love. She was quite surprised and delighted that she won, so it was a nice occasion for me to meet her and also meet with other people. I thank everybody associated with Heywire, particularly Mary Pemberton, the coordinator, because it takes a lot of work to organise it.

I also had occasion to visit, in my electorate last Saturday, the 2nd Casino Scout Group, which is in Pratt Street, to look at the work they do and to meet some of the children who are active in Scouting. I would like to put on the record that Casino has 100 years of continuous Scouting history. That is commendable in itself. It is really commendable of the parents who keep it going, because it relies on them and volunteers. They told me that the local state member for Lismore, Thomas George, had been a member of the group and that his name was listed on the honour roll. He comes from Casino, so they were quite pleased about that. I gave them a portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a good monarchist you are!

Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not but I am a good local member and it is what they wanted. I got it for them, had it framed and took it over and it was hung up on a wall. They had one but they needed a new one—let us put it that way—so I made sure that they got that. They were delighted with it. So it is hanging up and it looks very good.

Another local issue that I am actively advocating for at the moment is Coraki's Campbell Hospital, which is in my seat of Page. It is a small 14-bed hospital. There is a committee there. It is like a standing committee—it is called the Save the Hospital Committee—because every now and then the issue raises its head whereby they feel they are under threat. They do so at the moment. They have had some bad luck with the weather and it did do some damage to the hospital and expensive repair work was carried out. I was told that that would continue over the holidays and I was also told by the health service that they were undertaking a full structural review of the hospital as that was required. I understand that has been done and that I will be advised as to that soon. But the community, without enough information and after waiting for quite a few months, started to get very anxious about it, understandably so, and there was a public meeting and a lot of people turned out—230 people, although Coraki is a small place. I was here in this place so I joined the meeting by telephone. The local state member for Clarence attended the meeting and both he and I gave support to them, as I have done ever since I have been elected as their member and said that I will always make sure that that hospital stays open. I have a petition to that effect. We are collecting signatures on it at the moment in the community. We are seeking three things: ensuring urgent attention to repairs at Campbell Hospital, reopening the hospital at the earliest possible date and the giving of a commitment to the long-term future of the Campbell Hospital, which the residents so rightly deserve.

Another event that happened in my electorate recently was the opening of another part of the Ballina Bypass, something that was funded by our government and something that I lobbied for—involving $450 million, and there is state money in that as well. I was there with the local state member for Ballina and we did the honours and opened that. It was wonderful to see. We both stood there saying we never thought we would get so excited watching cars drive up a road—but it was good to see because the road was open. (Time expired)