Page 2459 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 13 August 2014
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MR BARR: A large proportion thereof, or under subcontracting arrangements. Obviously the largest project in the territory at the moment would be the Majura parkway project, and 90 per cent of the civil works there are undertaken by a local contractor.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Wall.
MR WALL: Minister, what civil contracting capital works projects are in the pipeline besides the two you have already mentioned, which are Moncrieff and the Majura parkway?
MR BARR: I would refer the member to the forward land release program in the budget papers, and he can do his own research.
Health—budget
MS PORTER: My question is to the Minister for Health: how does the 2014-15 ACT budget benefit the public health services delivered in Canberra?
MS GALLAGHER: I thank Ms Porter for her question and her ongoing interest in ACT health services. We know health remains the number one priority for the people of Canberra. It is always right there when they are looking at work the government is doing and when they are assessing important documents like the budget. That is why since this government has been in power we have continued to invest at record levels in our public health system.
The budget this year delivers $164 million over four years. It is the largest increase of any agency. That, again, confirms our record of health being the number one priority for this government. This $164 million goes into extra investment primarily into doctors, nurses, opening up of new hospital beds and the expansion of services in some of the new infrastructure across the territory. This includes the funding for the Belconnen and Tuggeranong community health centres, including the new walk-in centres, which, I can update members, have seen in the last week alone 682 presentations, showing extremely high levels of usage, already doubling essentially what we were able to do at the Canberra Hospital. Tuggeranong, in particular, is seeing in the order of 70 to 80 patients a day, and I think it is just fantastic that those services have been able to be offered and that the community is using them to the degree they are in such early stages.
We have also seen: the expansion at Calvary hospital of particular services, including ophthalmology; extra services in the new Canberra Region Cancer Centre, which was opened just last week; extra services at the women’s and children’s hospital; more money for elective surgery; expanded community nursing services; extra funding for our emergency department, particularly through extra doctors being available; increased services in endoscopy; additional funding for intensive and critical care services; expanded lymphedema services; increased services for women and young people; expanded outpatient and imaging services; and, importantly, money going assist services to reduce and prevent suicide, including further promotion of community awareness of this important area.
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