Our Health System after 11 years of ACT Labor

The facts behind the story:

• Since 2001 the number of people being seen at the emergency department within clinically recommended timeframes has fallen from 78 percent to 58 percent. The best performance in the country, now amongst the worst.
• Earlier this year a senior hospital administrator admitted to deliberately manipulating emergency department waiting times to make the results look better
• The median waiting time for elective surgery has increased from 44 days in 2001, to 76 days. This is the worst in the country.
• An Auditor-General's report found that patients had their urgency categories for elective surgery downgraded "without clinical reasons"
• In August, the Health Minister will open a Women and Children's Hospital that is $20 million over budget and will only have half of the promised facilities operational in the hospital
• The ACT has become chronically short of GPs, bulk billing rates are the lowest in the nation, and the cost of visiting a GP is the highest in the nation.

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Boer War Commemorative Address

The seeds of our identity as Australians were sown in the Boer War - where for the first time, we served not as colonial forces but under our own Australian flag. In the Boer War, New Zealanders and Australians also served side by side in what has become the ANZAC tradition.

The 110th Anniversary of the end of the Boer War was commemorated in a ceremony on ANZAC parade. The ceremony attracted bipartisan support from across the ACT and surrounding NSW. In addressing the audience, I highlighted that although many people recognise that Gallipoli was where our Army's values of courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice were cemented, it was in South Africa that these values had their origin.

A Boer War Memorial has been approved for ANZAC parade but the hardworking organising committee need financial support. To learn more about how you can support this memorial please visit their website www.bwm.org.au.

Visit to Alzheimer's Australia

Over one million Australians are already affected by Alzheimers themselves or are caring for a person with dementia. In the ACT there are 3,500 people diagnosed with dementia. This is expected to increase to 5,200 in 2020. Dementia currently costs the health system $6 billion annually and if there is no progress in treating or preventing dementia it will become the third highest source of health and residential aged care spending within 20 years.

I was lucky enough to spend a morning with Alzheimer's Australia ACT this month. This fantastic organisation works hard to educate the wider community and support those living with dementia. There are many passionate and committed individuals involved in this organisation including Jane Allen (CEO) and Greg Fraser (Treasurer) who I am pictured with on the left.

Please take the time to learn more about the significant affects that dementia will have on our community by visiting the Alzheimer's Australia website - www.fightdementia.org.au