Page 3083 - Week 08 - Thursday, 7 August 2008
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dollars worth of additional work being done on it, on a supplementary building that will have an associated medical practice in it—has to move from Wanniassa to Phillip.
Even more importantly—I am not sure if members are aware of this—I have been rung and told by various people that the medical practice that used to be in Mannheim Street, Kambah, as well as the medical practice that used to be located at the Monash shops and that is quite close to the Goodwin Village location which has been mentioned and which used to service that population, have been rolled across into Wanniassa. Now that practice is being rolled out of Tuggeranong Valley into Phillip. In effect, you have taken the medical practices out of what is eastern Kambah, Monash and Wanniassa and moved them north. That is a significant piece of the ACT that now has inadequate coverage by GPs.
As we have all said, the firm needs to answer the questions as to why. There used to be a mutual obligation where business looked after community and community looked after business. But some firms seem to have just put the profit before the people who they serve. I think that they think they can get away with using practices that will stop business—other competitors, in this case other GPs—from backfilling that area.
There are a number of questions that have to be answered for the community. In particular, what will happen to the lease on the existing building—that is, the medical centre at Wanniassa? If it is the intention of Primary Health Care to hold that lease and not allow it to be backfilled, then, if you take all of this in the context of what has recently come down from the ACCC in regard to supermarkets and market share, there are compelling reasons to have this inquiry.
I am pleased that the inquiry does have bipartisan support. We will, hopefully, get some interesting answers as to why this action has been taken. But the real problem is that, until we know why, we cannot formulate the answers that might assist. I know that Mrs Burke has got a lot of answers, because she revealed some of the things that she would like to do in the future. But until we know the actual reason why, we are in the dark.
It is very important that this inquiry takes place—that it takes place speedily and reports back to the Assembly before the close of the Assembly at the end of August so that the Assembly has time to debate and, if necessary, take other action to ensure medical services, particularly those of your local GP, your local doctor, your family doctor, who is not just a doctor but, for many people, is a friend, a confidant, somebody who helps them through dreadful periods in their life and is part of that glue that binds society together.
This is not just about the medical practice. This is about the fact that GPs who write prescriptions and prescribe treatments for people see those people leave their front door and go to the local chemist. The local chemist will be 50 metres away. At the Wanniassa shops, we have recently seen the Supabarn expand and refurb because they have faith in a community that saw a new medical centre built and an ancillary building being built. And decisions are being made by other businesses that have further influence in the community. Their decisions to expand are based on the confidence that others have displayed. To have those hopes dashed in this way without any logical explanation—and perhaps there is a perfectly logical reason why they are moving this practice out of the valley; I cannot understand it—
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