Page 1929 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 6 June 2017
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and facilities. Students cannot learn effectively if they are struggling with their mental health or they are being bullied at school. That is why we will continue to ensure that Canberra schools are Safe Schools by continuing to fund this important program after the Commonwealth gutted it and walked away from these students.
We are also hiring an additional five school psychologists to better support student wellbeing and to provide early intervention mental health services for young Canberrans.
Better teachers, better classrooms and better support for students who are struggling: this is a Budget that will deliver.
Better care when you need it
Health is also a significant priority for the Labor Party and for the Government, and Canberrans deserve to be confident that good quality healthcare will be available when they need it, whether that is for a routine check-up, a sudden broken bone, the much-anticipated birth of a child or a chronic illness.
That is why the Government went to the last election with a 10-Year Health Plan to renew our local hospitals and health facilities so that they can deliver care in ways that are easily accessible for everyone.
This Budget kicks off that plan with new health investments right across the community, in primary and specialist care, delivering better care where and when our residents need it.
The new SPIRE Centre will bring more and better tertiary health services to Canberra Hospital. SPIRE will boost the number of operating theatres from 13 to 20, providing more capacity and allowing for the concurrent management of emergency and elective surgeries, avoiding delays and rescheduling.
This Budget funds the first stage of planning, and provides for the design and construction commencement so that we can treat patients there early in the next decade.
This Budget also starts delivering on our commitment to expand the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children. The expansion will include a new child and adolescent mental health unit, an adolescent gynaecology service, a new paediatric high-dependency unit and paediatric intensive care beds. The first phase of funding includes feasibility and planning work to inform construction commencement in the 2018-19 fiscal year.
Of course, the primary goal is to keep Canberrans healthy through better preventative, primary and community care. That is why we are boosting access to bulk billing GPs in Canberra’s south, funding two new mobile dental vans, increasing the capacity of Hospital in the Home, and providing more free vaccinations and health checks in our schools.
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