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

In my nearly over 30 years of activity in the parliament and in political life, I do not think I have been to a happier day, a more entertaining day than Prom Country House's official opening: enhancing the human spirit. It is a brand-new aged-care facility. They got $9 million in 2009 from the Labor government. And I am still trying to figure out how they got that. Did they get it because they were trying to get rid of me? The member for Lingiari would probably know about that. Or was it the fact that Lindsay Tanner's father was actually in the care unit at the time? I am not suggesting any of those things. Anyway, they got this magnificent windfall. Sandy Bucello, who is president of the organisation, has delivered this magnificent building. What was strange about the day? They asked to meet me at 9.30 in the morning and the opening was not until 11. I was told, 'Here is this beautiful facility. We have a waiting list. We want more money.' Isn't that fantastic? They brought the federal member in, they sat him down on the chair and they grilled him. They said: 'We have now got this fantastic facility in our community and we now need two pods to go on it, to take it from 60 beds to 90 beds. We can do that straightaway without any changes. Put it to the government. We reckon it's a good idea.' Of course, I am going to put it to the government and put as much pressure on as I can.

Llew Vale was a great MC for the day. Sandy Bucello is the president. What a marvellous day we had. Aunty Madge Selly, from the Gunai-Kurnai Corporation, gave a welcome to country.

The member for Lingiari has been down to my electorate. He knows what the people are like. Phil Nightingall is the treasurer and Joan Liley is a board member. Larry Giddy and Bill Bray were there. Bill was grilling me as hard as he could. Also present were Francis Sullivan, Mark Wakely and Rhett McLennan, who is the CEO of the whole place. It was a fantastic day. They have this new facility that any community would be proud of, let alone the surrounds of Foster. They have coordinated this fantastic, new aged-care facility, so they will have a massive, new car park, with the hospital over there and doctors over here. I said to them, 'It doesn't matter where this money came from, whether it came from a Labor government or a Liberal coalition government. We in the parliament of Australia actually care about our older people and we are wealthy enough to look after them in their old age.' I promised them that day, on behalf of all of you, that we will. We will look after them, we will care for them and we will make sure they are well housed into the future. I know that those who are younger than me and are going to follow me into this place, Mr Deputy Speaker Hawke—people like you—will hear what I have said today and always remember we have a debt to pay to the generations that went before us. We would not be enjoying ourselves the way we do today without the work that they did.