Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The federal government is delivering $158 million in funding to expand Joondalup Hospital in my electorate of Moore. As a result of the strong advocacy efforts—and in cooperation with my neighbour, the member for Pearce—there will be 90 new public hospital beds, 75 mental health places, 25 beds in a new coronary care unit, eight new operating theatres and three new cardiac catheter laboratories. This investment is fully funded in the current budget and is designed to meet the healthcare needs of our growing population.

I draw the attention of the House to a misleading advertisement circulating on social media, claiming that $4.67 million has been cut from the Joondalup Health Campus. Clearly, this is not the case, and it calls into question the credibility of the person who authorised the advertisement. In response, I have direct mailed every household in my electorate, advising of the fact that the government is delivering $158 million in funding to expand the Joondalup Health Campus in the budget. We will not let these false claims go unchallenged. The government is committed to delivering the best in health care, with the budget including $35.3 billion for the Medicare Guarantee Fund in the 2018-19 year to fund treatments listed on Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. This represents a real and tangible increase in health funding, not a decrease, as was claimed. (Time expired)