Page 151 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 10 December 2008
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Ever being eager to explore new opportunities and to see the rich diversity of our country, when the opportunity presented itself our family moved to Alice Springs, where I worked with Indigenous communities to increase access to GP services. I also travelled across the deserts of Northern Australia to supervise the construction of medical student accommodation in remote communities and witnessed the positive outcomes that can be achieved when government, non-government and community groups work together.
I have been involved in the development of health policy with various public service and non-government organisations. More recently, I was the CEO of the Australian Rural Health Education Network. It works across the university sector to improve health outcomes through health workforce training, research and innovative service models.
After what I considered to be a fairly diverse background, I feel lucky to have experienced life from several perspectives. I understand the burden carried by our front-line health professionals and how important it is for government to listen to them, work with them and support them in their work.
I recall the pressures of running a small business while raising a small family, and I appreciate the contribution that small business has made to this city’s economy. I know all too well that returning to study after years in the workforce is daunting for many, and I believe the government should do all it can to provide access to education for all Australians.
It is the Australian values of fairness, justice and appreciation for diversity that are the spirit of our Labor Party. It is the Labor Party that charts a course between supporting the needs of small business and ensuring that workers have a fair go. We know that protecting workers’ rights and encouraging business growth can, and indeed must, go hand in hand. Unions and business owners in the end have a united goal to provide opportunities for all.
It is the Labor government who the people of the ACT have chosen to trust, and it is our responsibility to make sure that trust is rewarded. We need to continue investing in our health system, while ensuring our local schools are looked after, by meeting the day-to-day needs of our citizens and helping small businesses drive our local economy. It is going to be hard, but it can be done.
Mr Speaker, I believe there are three areas in particular where the government has an essential role in planning towards the future of our wellbeing. The first area is education. Access to and successful participation in quality education is and will remain the great deciding factor in the direction of many of our lives. In a nation as prosperous as ours, it should not be possible for students to reach high school lacking the most basic reading and writing skills; yet it seems that some students are doing just that. We are not talking about a particularly large group, but for any student covering up an inability to read by putting on a tough face and disrupting their class, the long-term effects can hardly be more significant. Unless remedied, I fear that those students will be at increasing disadvantage for the rest of their academic, personal and professional lives.
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