❓ Mr Catania questions the Minister for Health about funding difficulties for the new Wiluna health centre. The Minister blames the Commonwealth government for mismanagement and underfunding, detailing a complex funding arrangement and subsequent shortfalls.
AnsweredQoN 462Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WILUNA HEALTH
FACILITY
462. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Health:
I acknowledge the year 7 councillors from Wanneroo Primary
School who are in the Speaker's gallery.
The Minister for Health would be aware of the funding
difficulties with the completion of the new Wiluna health centre. Can the
minister please update the house on what really has happened with the funding
for this facility?
FACILITY
462. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Health:
I acknowledge the year 7 councillors from Wanneroo Primary
School who are in the Speaker's gallery.
The Minister for Health would be aware of the funding
difficulties with the completion of the new Wiluna health centre. Can the
minister please update the house on what really has happened with the funding
for this facility?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. My answer will have a
slightly different tinge than that of the Leader of the National Party because,
frankly, on this, I think the commonwealth has a lot to answer for.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Thank
you, members!
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Before the Leader of the Opposition comes into this house and attacks the state
government, why does he not ask himself: who in this state has the
responsibility for funding Aboriginal medical services? The commonwealth. Who
in this state has responsibility for managing primary health care services? The
commonwealth. Who has responsibility for the development of this program and
the funding and management of this health service? The commonwealth government.
This is not a state government problem; this is a commonwealth government
funding program. The commonwealth government came to this state —
Mr R.H. Cook : It's
a joint funding responsibility, so don't try to duck and weave. Don't
blame everyone else for your problem.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Kwinana! I did not hear you ask the question. I formally call you to
order for the first time today.
Dr K.D. HAMES :
This is a program that is under the management of the Office of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Health, a commonwealth-funded body. It has program
management for this service. It approached the state with a proposal to build a
Wiluna health clinic to the tune of $9.623 million and asked the state whether
it would agree to going halves in that program. Because there is a lack of
services in those remote communities and we have partnered on many occasions in
the past with Aboriginal medical services and we expect it to look after
non-Indigenous patients the same as Indigenous patients, we agreed to share the
costs 50–50 with the commonwealth having responsibility for managing
the service and full responsibility for procurement and management. We put up
our funding and gave it to the Office of Aboriginal Health. Then the OAH came
back saying that it was not enough. The Aboriginal Medical Service went to
royalties for regions and said it was $2.346 million short and it did not have
enough money, and asked whether royalties for regions would fund all the extra
things that were not in the original scope for that service. Without seeing a
business case, royalties for regions, quite reasonably, said no. The member for
Kalgoorlie then came to me and to the WA Country Health Service and said, ''Look,
if you don't help, it will not happen. This service desperately needs
state government support.'' The WA Country Health Service has put to me
all the reasons we should not help because it was a commonwealth program and
the commonwealth should have properly managed that program to make sure it was
developed within the scope of practice. The member for Kalgoorlie said, ''If
you don't, it won't happen.'' I said to my staff, ''That's
an excellent argument; I agree with you 100 per cent, but now we have to try to
sort it out.'' They then put up $400 000. The Aboriginal Health Service
looked at the total scope of what was proposed to be developed and at the $2.3 million-plus
extra request for funding and said, ''No you don't need all
those things, this is what you need; this is what the cost is.'' We
agreed to go halves with $400 000 each on the condition that the group managing
that service agreed to make no further requests for funding. All the things
needed to run that hospital were within the scope. The OAH then came back and
said, ''We don't have security; we don't have cover for
the sheds; we don't have this; we don't have that, and the WA
Department of Health won't let us open it.'' It has not even
applied to the Department of Health to open it, but the local members have been
working very hard to get it up, so the member for North West —
Mr R.H. Cook interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Kwinana!
Dr K.D. HAMES : —
went back to the royalties for regions committee and has been begging it, if we
like. The two members out there have been working very hard with the Minister
for Regional Development to find a solution to have it opened. But the local
management group, the commonwealth government body that is supposed to be
managing this, has done an appalling job in making sure this meets the scope
and that it is done properly and efficiently. If members opposite ever want to
jump up and criticise someone for not getting this project done, they should
get on the phone to Minister Tanya Plibersek and say to her, ''This is
your project, why aren't you funding it; why are you refusing, in fact,
to provide a single additional extra dollar to fund this?'' We are
asking for royalties for regions to fund all the extra money for what is a
commonwealth program. The member for Kwinana should get onto the federal
minister to fund at least half the additional costs of the commonwealth
program.
Mr R.H. Cook :
Stand up and take responsibility for once.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Kwinana, I formally call you to order for the second time today.
slightly different tinge than that of the Leader of the National Party because,
frankly, on this, I think the commonwealth has a lot to answer for.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Thank
you, members!
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Before the Leader of the Opposition comes into this house and attacks the state
government, why does he not ask himself: who in this state has the
responsibility for funding Aboriginal medical services? The commonwealth. Who
in this state has responsibility for managing primary health care services? The
commonwealth. Who has responsibility for the development of this program and
the funding and management of this health service? The commonwealth government.
This is not a state government problem; this is a commonwealth government
funding program. The commonwealth government came to this state —
Mr R.H. Cook : It's
a joint funding responsibility, so don't try to duck and weave. Don't
blame everyone else for your problem.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Kwinana! I did not hear you ask the question. I formally call you to
order for the first time today.
Dr K.D. HAMES :
This is a program that is under the management of the Office of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Health, a commonwealth-funded body. It has program
management for this service. It approached the state with a proposal to build a
Wiluna health clinic to the tune of $9.623 million and asked the state whether
it would agree to going halves in that program. Because there is a lack of
services in those remote communities and we have partnered on many occasions in
the past with Aboriginal medical services and we expect it to look after
non-Indigenous patients the same as Indigenous patients, we agreed to share the
costs 50–50 with the commonwealth having responsibility for managing
the service and full responsibility for procurement and management. We put up
our funding and gave it to the Office of Aboriginal Health. Then the OAH came
back saying that it was not enough. The Aboriginal Medical Service went to
royalties for regions and said it was $2.346 million short and it did not have
enough money, and asked whether royalties for regions would fund all the extra
things that were not in the original scope for that service. Without seeing a
business case, royalties for regions, quite reasonably, said no. The member for
Kalgoorlie then came to me and to the WA Country Health Service and said, ''Look,
if you don't help, it will not happen. This service desperately needs
state government support.'' The WA Country Health Service has put to me
all the reasons we should not help because it was a commonwealth program and
the commonwealth should have properly managed that program to make sure it was
developed within the scope of practice. The member for Kalgoorlie said, ''If
you don't, it won't happen.'' I said to my staff, ''That's
an excellent argument; I agree with you 100 per cent, but now we have to try to
sort it out.'' They then put up $400 000. The Aboriginal Health Service
looked at the total scope of what was proposed to be developed and at the $2.3 million-plus
extra request for funding and said, ''No you don't need all
those things, this is what you need; this is what the cost is.'' We
agreed to go halves with $400 000 each on the condition that the group managing
that service agreed to make no further requests for funding. All the things
needed to run that hospital were within the scope. The OAH then came back and
said, ''We don't have security; we don't have cover for
the sheds; we don't have this; we don't have that, and the WA
Department of Health won't let us open it.'' It has not even
applied to the Department of Health to open it, but the local members have been
working very hard to get it up, so the member for North West —
Mr R.H. Cook interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Kwinana!
Dr K.D. HAMES : —
went back to the royalties for regions committee and has been begging it, if we
like. The two members out there have been working very hard with the Minister
for Regional Development to find a solution to have it opened. But the local
management group, the commonwealth government body that is supposed to be
managing this, has done an appalling job in making sure this meets the scope
and that it is done properly and efficiently. If members opposite ever want to
jump up and criticise someone for not getting this project done, they should
get on the phone to Minister Tanya Plibersek and say to her, ''This is
your project, why aren't you funding it; why are you refusing, in fact,
to provide a single additional extra dollar to fund this?'' We are
asking for royalties for regions to fund all the extra money for what is a
commonwealth program. The member for Kwinana should get onto the federal
minister to fund at least half the additional costs of the commonwealth
program.
Mr R.H. Cook :
Stand up and take responsibility for once.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Kwinana, I formally call you to order for the second time today.
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