❓ Ms Duncan asks why the new Laverton health centre is desperately needed. Mr Redman explains the centre's importance due to Laverton's isolation, its role as a transition point for Indigenous communities, and the inadequacy of the existing facility.
AnsweredQoN 424Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
LAVERTON
HEALTH CENTRE — ROYALTIES FOR REGIONS
424. Ms W.M. DUNCAN to the
Minister for Regional Development:
I refer to the recent state budget and the allocation of royalties
for regions funding for a new health centre in Laverton in my electorate. Can
the minister explain to the house why this new centre is so desperately needed?
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
HEALTH CENTRE — ROYALTIES FOR REGIONS
424. Ms W.M. DUNCAN to the
Minister for Regional Development:
I refer to the recent state budget and the allocation of royalties
for regions funding for a new health centre in Laverton in my electorate. Can
the minister explain to the house why this new centre is so desperately needed?
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
AnswerView source ↗
The member for Girrawheen, I am sure, is quite right: the
local member would absolutely know all about this facility because she is the
one who has been advocating for a health service in her electorate to make a
difference in regional Western Australia. Back in 2002, there were moves from the
opposition to downgrade it to a nursing post, and thank you to the member for
Kalgoorlie for actually putting this on the agenda.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cannington!
Mr D.T. REDMAN :
Why is this facility needed? For starters, every single signpost that we see in
Laverton—I was out in Laverton in the member for Kalgoorlie's
electorate on Saturday—has a big number attached to it; it is a long,
long way from anywhere. It is on that transition for people who come out of the
Ngaanyatjarra lands and a number of surrounding Indigenous communities. It is
really, really important that we have a health service that actually matches
the needs of people in the state, particularly people who live in places like
Laverton that are quite isolated. They have been rallying for some time to
upgrade their facility. Having been through the facility, what they have now is
third-rate. Something as simple as —
Mr R.H. Cook : Did
you go through it in 2002?
Mr D.T. REDMAN : It
goes right back to that: when that community started to look for a new
facility, and that is when the member for Kwinana and his side of the house
decided not to do anything about it.
Having been through the facility, where the ambulance pulls
off and puts off people who are obviously in emergency need, those people would
have to go right the way through the hospital to get to the emergency
department at the other side. Simple things like that make life very, very
difficult—besides the age of the facility, which was built back in
1973.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Thank
you, member for Midland. Have you finished? Member for Kwinana, your turn is
next; this is not your question.
Mr D.T. REDMAN : To
allocate $19.5 million of royalties for regions funds to support upgrading this
health facility is significant for Laverton and that region. It will offer a
range of services, including a new emergency department, a general practice
area, home and community care services, clinical services for visiting
specialists, overnight beds for patients waiting for transfer to other
facilities, plus a six-bed aged-care facility. A lot of work still has to be
done around consulting the relevant groups, including the local community,
around the design and ensuring that we match the services in that facility to
needs of the local area. Of course, it will provide significant support for the
Indigenous communities that sit around that area. I thank the member for
Kalgoorlie very much, and, of course, the Minister for Health, who has
supported a significant investment like this to make sure that we deliver
better health services into regional Western Australia.
local member would absolutely know all about this facility because she is the
one who has been advocating for a health service in her electorate to make a
difference in regional Western Australia. Back in 2002, there were moves from the
opposition to downgrade it to a nursing post, and thank you to the member for
Kalgoorlie for actually putting this on the agenda.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cannington!
Mr D.T. REDMAN :
Why is this facility needed? For starters, every single signpost that we see in
Laverton—I was out in Laverton in the member for Kalgoorlie's
electorate on Saturday—has a big number attached to it; it is a long,
long way from anywhere. It is on that transition for people who come out of the
Ngaanyatjarra lands and a number of surrounding Indigenous communities. It is
really, really important that we have a health service that actually matches
the needs of people in the state, particularly people who live in places like
Laverton that are quite isolated. They have been rallying for some time to
upgrade their facility. Having been through the facility, what they have now is
third-rate. Something as simple as —
Mr R.H. Cook : Did
you go through it in 2002?
Mr D.T. REDMAN : It
goes right back to that: when that community started to look for a new
facility, and that is when the member for Kwinana and his side of the house
decided not to do anything about it.
Having been through the facility, where the ambulance pulls
off and puts off people who are obviously in emergency need, those people would
have to go right the way through the hospital to get to the emergency
department at the other side. Simple things like that make life very, very
difficult—besides the age of the facility, which was built back in
1973.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Thank
you, member for Midland. Have you finished? Member for Kwinana, your turn is
next; this is not your question.
Mr D.T. REDMAN : To
allocate $19.5 million of royalties for regions funds to support upgrading this
health facility is significant for Laverton and that region. It will offer a
range of services, including a new emergency department, a general practice
area, home and community care services, clinical services for visiting
specialists, overnight beds for patients waiting for transfer to other
facilities, plus a six-bed aged-care facility. A lot of work still has to be
done around consulting the relevant groups, including the local community,
around the design and ensuring that we match the services in that facility to
needs of the local area. Of course, it will provide significant support for the
Indigenous communities that sit around that area. I thank the member for
Kalgoorlie very much, and, of course, the Minister for Health, who has
supported a significant investment like this to make sure that we deliver
better health services into regional Western Australia.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.