Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—Senator Siewert's motion, as I understand it, claims that the Australian government intends to stop providing funding for Western Desert Dialysis, regarded as Purple House, which is untrue. The government has allocated $1.6 million annually to support the work it does in Alice Springs, Ntaria, Kintore and Yuen­dumu. Regardless of any future administrat­ive arrangements, it is our objective to secure this annual funding into the future, and Western Desert Dialysis have been assured of this both verbally and in writing. More recently, the government approved funding of $2.3 million to support the delivery of nurse assisted dialysis to Lajamanu and Kalkarindji.

In addition, the government has allocated $147,000 to the end of May 2013 for Western Desert Dialysis to provide chronic disease management and health promotion. Furthermore, the government recently announced the allocation of $13 million for accommodation in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek to house renal dialysis patients and their families. The government remains committed to working on these issues, although treatment for renal patients is primarily a state and territory responsi­bility. On that basis, we do not support the motion. We think it is not factually correct.

Question agreed to.