Page 3475 - Week 10 - Thursday, 20 October 2022
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MRS KIKKERT (Ginninderra) (4.45): I am thankful for the opportunity to briefly speak to Mr Davis’s motion. Yesterday we heard from the Greens, especially Jo Clay, about doomsday and apocalypse and zombies. Today it is all about bikies and drugs. Go figure! As I have reiterated many times in this Chamber, we are blessed to be living in such a wonderful city of natural beauty and vibrant landscapes, both the land and all its inhabitants. It only makes sense that the ACT should be a role model for outstanding governance and bring access to the best of everything.
When it comes to public health services in the ACT, we should be world class when it comes to the provision of quality health care. Minimal wait times for procedures, both elective and non-elective; an emergency department that is fully resourced to operate quickly and efficiently; and state-of-the-art health facilities that draw all the best health professionals to work in this city. But this is not the case, and it has not been the case for a very long time under this Labor Greens government.
I, and the rest of my Canberra Liberal colleagues, have been calling for many years on the ACT government to ensure that public health services in general are prepared for the impacts of a growing population in Canberra. We have been calling on the ACT government for years, asking for better data collection that will inform continuing improvements to our healthcare system. Contrary to our calls, perhaps Mr Davis’s motion will be most heartily received and supported—and even fully implemented.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. As we approach the summer season it is important that we prepare for the hotter weather and harsher sun. Well over 1,000 Australians die from skin cancer every year. In 2020 melanoma of the skin was the tenth-most-common cause of cancer death in Australia. So I would like to take this opportunity to offer my usual personal but standard advice for the upcoming season: check your skin regularly for spots and moles, put your hat on and your sunnies, and whack on some sunscreen.
To the government, I have this to say: it is critical that Canberrans have better access to cancer care. This is something that I have repeatedly advocated for in recent times, particularly following issues and concerns of patient transfers to the Canberra Region Cancer Centre from the Zita Mary Clinic at the Calvary Public Hospital Bruce for chemotherapy treatments. This was found to be primarily due to the latter hospital not being able to meet accreditation standards of governance for oncology and haematology services. This is not good enough. I will continue to advocate for improved access to quality cancer care in the ACT, particularly for northside residents. I will be keeping a close eye on the ACT Health Services Plan, particularly when it comes to consideration of better access to chemotherapy services, including medical support and comprehensive care for cancer patients in the ACT. This is just one of many areas that are failing under this Labor Greens government when it comes to providing quality health care to Canberrans. We must do better.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (4.50): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and just a few brief remarks. I am conscious this has been a longish debate. Climate action failure was ranked as the top global risk in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report for 2021. Extreme weather events including heat waves and fires were also ranked as a major global risk. As has been noted in this debate, in the ACT we are projected to experience a hotter, drier climate with higher bushfire risk and more days
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