Health Infrastructure

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-105040

Hansard session: Fifty-Sixth Parliament, First Session (56-1)

Health Infrastructure

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (14:47:25):

My question is addressed to Minister for Health, and Minister for Medical Research. How is the New South Wales Liberal-Nationals Government delivering a stronger, better future for our State's health system and rectifying the failings of the Labor Government?

Mr BRAD HAZZARD (WakehurstMinister for Health, and Minister for Medical Research) (14:47:43):

— Madam Speaker—

The SPEAKER:

Members will cease interjecting. Some members clearly do not want to be here for the rest of the day.

Mr Clayton Barr:

Point of order—

The SPEAKER:

What does the member for Cessnock want?

Ms Jodi McKay:

He is entitled to take a point of order.

The SPEAKER:

The member for Strathfield will stop telling me how to do my job. I will gladly get out of the chair if she wishes and she can have a go.

Ms Jodi McKay:

This is your last day.

The SPEAKER:

This might be the last day for the member for Strathfield. That would be good would it not? What does the member for Cessnock want? The Minister has not commenced answering the question.

Mr Clayton Barr:

It is not to do with the response; it is to do with the question. Standing Order 128 (2) (a) states that questions should not contain irony, epithets and—

The SPEAKER:

The question does not include either epithet or irony. Standing Order 128 has several clauses—the member for Cessnock is right—but he does not understand any of them.

Mr Clayton Barr:

No, but they are really big words, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER:

Get a dictionary.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

I thank the member for Oatley for his question. He has done an incredible job in his electorate and without him St George Hospital would not have seen the massive upgrade that has occurred. As they say, "Hooray Coure." Well done!

The SPEAKER:

I remind the member for Rockdale that he is on three calls to order.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

The member for Oatley is entitled to be proud of the fact that since 2011, $332 million has been spent in his community. I thank all the medical staff at St George Hospital who have been part and parcel of the upgrade—a new 52-bed intensive care and high dependency unit, a cardiac catheterisation unit, 128 inpatient beds, a new sterilising department, and an atrium linking the emergency department, the Tower Ward Block and the Clinical Services Building. I acknowledge Associate Professor Theresa Jacques, a great intensivist who has a four-pod intensive care unit. If I did not acknowledge her I would be in trouble. It is worrying that we now have an Opposition that thinks it could do the job of being in government but clearly it does not have the goods. What has happened in the past eight years as opposed to the previous 16 miserable years of a Labor government that did nothing in health.

The SPEAKER:

This is the final warning for the member of Rockdale.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Let us pick a date right in the middle of those miserable 16 years. In 2008, 2009 and 2010, 65 per cent of ambulances did their offload of patients, thus meeting their requirement of looking after patients within the prescribed 30 minutes. Under the Coalition Government 92 per cent—closing in on 100 per cent—of ambulances get their patients in for care quickly, which was completely beyond Labor. In addition to ambulance offloads there are a number of other indicators. During the Labor years I was told by people working in the hospitals that they all dreaded the fact that the toecutter gang would arrive and start decimating the staff.

Mrs Leslie Williams:

It is true.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

It is true, as the member for Port Macquarie, who was a nurse at the time, knows. Getting rid of staff is what got Labor through those 16 years. I am told that in one area it had a $73 million budget overrun. In other words, it could not run the hospital system so it started sacking people. What has happened since the New South Wales Government got the economy working well? There has been a slight difference. Have we been sacking staff? Have we been doing that?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

No. Have we employed another 1,000 people in our hospitals?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Have we employed another 2,000 people in our hospitals?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Have we employed another 3,000 people in our hospitals?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Have we employed another 4,000?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Another 5,000?

Government Members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Another 6,000?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Another 7,000?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Another 8,000?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Another 9,000?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Another 10,000?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Another 11,000?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Another 12,000?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Another 13,000?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Another 14,000?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Another 15,000?

Government members:

No.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Another 16,000?

Government members:

Yes.

Mr Paul Lynch:

Point of order—

The SPEAKER:

The Clerk will stop the clock.

Mr Paul Lynch:

Standing Order 49 means that, Madam Speaker, has to attempt to keep order in this Chamber. It is impossible to do that when the Minister for Health behaves in that manner.

The SPEAKER:

I agree with the member for Liverpool. The member for Liverpool will resume his seat.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

I agree. If I could I would uphold the point of order. In addition to the hospitals—

The SPEAKER:

The member for Fairfield will cease interjecting. The Minister has the call.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:Extension of time

This Government has increased the number of staff and it has improved ambulance offloads. Let us take another year in the middle of those horrible 16 years. In 2004 under Labor more than 19,000 people were waiting for operations. Today, under a Liberal-Nationals Government there are 260. []

In 2004, 19,000 patients were waiting beyond clinically approved times for surgery. Today, after eight years of a Liberal-Nationals Government, 260 people are waiting. On any criteria whatsoever that is an amazing change. On top of that, as the Premier observed earlier, across our hospital system we have had 94 hospitals either upgraded or rebuilt. Under Labor effectively nothing was being built. There was a closure—

The SPEAKER:

Members who are on three calls to order are calling out.

Mr BRAD HAZZARD:

Effectively under Labor nothing was being built. Labor used other people's money to build infrastructure as it had no money. Rebuilds include the Dubbo Base Hospital, Shellharbour ambulatory care expansion centre, Hillston Multipurpose Centre, Peakhill Multipurpose Centre and Walgett Multipurpose Centre. We are spending $750 million on the Blacktown Mount Druitt Hospital redevelopment and the Lismore Base Hospital redevelopment is in the final stage. We have built stages one and two of the Wagga Wagga Rural Referral Hospital and amazing work is being done at Hornsby and Artarmon. So many hospitals and ambulance stations are being built. I thank all the doctors and nurses who work in our hospital system across New South Wales. I also thank my electorate officer Noelene Barrell and Lisa Nagle. I thank all the amazing electorate officers who have looked after all members of Parliament over the past four years.