Gordon Reid
Robertson · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“I rise to oppose this MPI on so many fronts. I want to call it out for what it is: a shabby, cynical little stunt from a Liberal Party trying to crawl out from under the wreckage that they created. For those opposite to come into this chamber and lecture Labor on older Australians is not just hypocrisy; it is gall on stilts.”
“And now, apparently, after years of neglect, they found a conscience—conveniently located somewhere between a press release and a media opportunity. As a doctor, I know a bad handover when I see it, and I'm seeing one right now. The Liberal Party handed over an aged-care system in distress—understaffed, underpaid, neglected and unstable.”
“We are delivering support at home so older Australians can stay independent, supported and connected in their own homes, and we are backing aged care workers with real wage increases, because you cannot fix aged care while treating the people who provide it like an afterthought.”
“But now, in opposition, this Liberal Party slithers back into this chamber, draped in concern, pretending that they are the champions for older Australians. Please just spare us the performance. This MPI is not about older Australians. It is about the Liberal Party trying to torch the evidence before anyone reads the file.”
“What they don't deserve is to be dragged into what we've all witnessed here today, this grubby, little memory-loss exercise of the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation. This MPI should be rejected for exactly what it is.”
“Sue Lamb has dedicated an extraordinary 38 years to nursing, sharing her wealth of knowledge and experience throughout her career. Her unwavering focus on patient care combined with a strong commitment to supporting and encouraging her team to uphold the highest standards of practice has left a lasting influence on all of those who have w…”
The complete record
Every one of 207 lines we hold for Gordon Reid, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 5.
“Harriet and I want to talk about the Robertson Christmas appeal. Towards the close of 2025, I asked the people of Robertson for their support in launching the Robertson appeal. I called on my constituents to donate gifts for those doing it tough, and the response from our community was nothing short of extraordinary. In true Central Coast fashion, people responded with empathy, kindness and overwhelming generosity. I know our community well, I know what it's capable of and I was confident that the people would step up to support one another over the Christmas period, and they did in the most remarkable way. For the Robertson appeal, I partnered with two outstanding local organisations, Coast Shelter and We Care Connect.”
“My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How is the Albanese government acting to get more fuel flowing to where it's needed, and why is now a time for our representatives to act within the national interest?”
“On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I present the committee's report, incorporating a dissenting report, entitled Review of the exposure draft legislation: Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026 . Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).”
“Our responsibility as members of this parliament is to reinforce those values, to ensure our security agencies are properly supported, to ensure our communities are protected and to ensure that our national conversation remains grounded in unity rather than suspicion. Terror seeks to isolate, extremism seeks to divide and antisemitism seeks to dehumanise. Community defeats all of those things. Let us honour those affected by the Bondi attack, not only with our words but with our unity, our vigilance and our commitment to one another.”
“Each Hebrew letter on the dreidel represents the phrase, 'A great miracle happened there.' It is a reminder that, even in the darkest moments of history, hope can endure and light can return. Standing there by the water's edge, surrounded by families, elders, children and community leaders, I was struck not by fear but by strength: strength in gathering openly, strength in refusing to hide and strength in choosing joy, culture and faith in a moment when it would be easier to withdraw. That is the Australia that I know. The response to the Bondi attack has shown that our communities will not be intimidated into silence or separation. We have seen vigils attended by people of every background. We have seen interfaith leaders stand shoulder to shoulder. We have seen Australians reject antisemitism and reject hatred in all of its forms.”
“We must resist the temptation to assign blame to entire communities, entire faiths or entire cultures. That path will only lead to further harm, and it is precisely what extremists seek to provoke. Recently, I attended a Hannukah celebration at the Gosford waterfront with Rabbi Yossi and members of the local Jewish community. It was a deeply moving experience, particularly in the shadow of such violence. Hanukkah is a festival of light in darkness, of resilience in the face of persecution and of faith enduring against overwhelming odds. As part of that celebration I learned more about the dreidel: a small spinning top often associated with children and joy but rich with meaning.”
“They made rapid, life-saving decisions in chaotic and dangerous conditions—often at great personal risk—and their actions saved lives. I also want to acknowledge the doctors, nurses, allied health staff and support teams in our emergency departments who received the injured. Long after the sirens faded these professionals continued to work, bearing witness to unimaginable grief. Emergency departments do not close their doors when tragedy strikes; they absorb it, and they do so with skill, compassion and resolve. At moments like this, leadership matters. Our words matter, and our actions matter even more. We must condemn terrorism clearly and consistently, while also confronting antisemitism and violent extremism whenever they appear. At the same time, we must protect the social fabric that extremists seek to tear apart.”
“In the days following the Bondi attack, we saw grief ripple through communities right across our vast country. We saw fear, but we also saw courage. We saw strangers supporting strangers. We saw first responders running towards danger and communities refusing to be divided. That response tells us something profound about Australia; terror may strike, but terror will never win. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, we witnessed extraordinary courage from those who ran towards danger when others were fleeing. I want to place on record deep gratitude to the New South Wales police and the New South Wales Ambulance, who acted with speed, professionalism and selflessness in the most confronting of circumstances. Police officers secured the scene and neutralised the threat. Paramedics treated the injured under immense pressure.”
“The recent terror attack in Bondi was an act of violence designed not only to take innocent lives but to fracture our sense of safety, to sow fear in our public places and to test the strength of our national character. It was an attack on Jewish Australians celebrating—families, workers, visitors—people who simply expected to return home safely. Let me be unequivocal: terrorism has no place in Australia. Hate has no home here. Antisemitism, racism and all forms of extremism—whether political, religious or ideological—are fundamentally incompatible with Australian values. Violence driven by these forces will never define who we are as a nation. Australia is strongest not when we retreat from one another but when we stand closer together.”
“I would like to thank the following volunteers: Jo-Anne Barron, Yeshe Thubten, Shauntelle Wana, Veronica Baker, the late Gary Hayward, Angela O'Donnell, Gayle Hartley, Christopher Bryden, Peter Wade-Ferrill, Mick and Joy Ball, Sandy Shapley, Angela Carswell, Jennifer Jackson, Susan Giaquinto, Samantha Young, Brian Dawson, Libby Rhys-Jones, Zoe Zhao, Aysha Basheer, Kerry Jarman and Michael O'Donnell. To the phenomenal food rescue project officer, Fiona MacPhail: thank you for the support that you provide. Thank you to Erica Harker in food pantry accounts and ordering. And to CEO Vivian Muraahi: thank you for your leadership, advocacy and dedication to our Central Coast community.”
“Recently I had the opportunity to visit The People's Pantry in Woy Woy to see firsthand the incredible work this organisation and its volunteers are doing to support vulnerable community members and reduce food wastage. The People's Pantry is a not-for-profit organisation with the objective of helping provide quality groceries at affordable prices and salvaging otherwise good produce and grocery items from ending up in landfill. The People's Pantry works alongside local supermarkets as well as Foodbank and SecondBite to prevent groceries or produce from ending up in the bin. Open every Monday and Wednesday, the service helped over 3,000 people in 2024 and saved a whopping 22,000 kilograms of food from ending up in landfill sites.”
“Following this, she moved into the 420 class, and she and her crew became back-to-back female national champions. In 2024, Bridget placed third at the SailGP WASZP grand final in San Francisco and seventh female at the WASZP Worlds in Norway. If that wasn't enough, she was recently awarded the 2024-25 NSW/ACT Female Sailor of the Year. Bridget tells me that she is super excited for future competitions, including the SailGP grand final qualifier in December, the Asia-Pacific championship in January and the world championship in March. Congratulations, Bridget.”
“I rise to congratulate and commend a tremendous young sailor from my community, Bridget Conrad. Bridget is a rising sports star in the world of sailing and recently was named as a finalist for Sport NSW's Athlete of the Year and for Australian Sailing's Female Sailor of the Year. Bridget grew up on the Central Coast and first discovered sailing on a school excursion to the Gosford Sailing Club to celebrate Tom Slingsby's Olympic gold medal in 2012. She says that after Tom autographed her hand that day she was inspired to learn how to sail and instantly developed the goal of following in his footsteps into the professional SailGP circuit and the America's Cup. When Bridget was 12, she started sailing the Optimist and went on to represent Australia at several international events as part of the Australian Optimist Sailing Team.”
“Following consideration of the committee's other recommendations, the committee recommends that the bill be passed by the parliament. I'd like to thank the chair, the deputy chair and all the members of the committee that have been involved in the creation and publication of this report, as well as the secretariat and their support staff. They all work so hard in support of the committee, in support of the parliament, and I think it's absolutely vital that we give them our recognition in this place. I commend this report to the House.”
“The committee has also recommended changes to allow the chair and deputy chair of the committee to nominate a member of their staff to be provided with an appropriate security clearance that allows them to assist their respective principal in the performance of their duties on the committee. This reflects the increasing workload and the increasing responsibilities on the chair and deputy chair as the committee's remit has grown, as well as the strict disclosure offences in the Intelligence Services Act 2001, which limit the support that regular staff can provide. Overall, the committee strongly supports the objectives of the bill to strengthen the operational, parliamentary and legislative oversight of the national intelligence community.”
“As well as broadening the remit of the committee and the two independent oversight bodies, the bill contains important administrative amendments to the Intelligence Services Act 2001, affecting how the committee itself operates. The committee has ensured it has taken the time to carefully examine these amendments before giving them its support. As a result, the committee's report includes a number of recommendations aimed at refining and building upon those amendments to ensure the provisions will be as effective as possible. These include a recommendation to give the committee a standing function to review its own operating provisions as required in the future.”
“The bill will enable the committee to review proposed reforms to such legislation as well as existing sunsetting legislation on its own motion or on referral by the relevant minister, the Attorney-General or a house of the parliament. The bill will also empower the committee to request the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security to inquire into an agency's operational activities and the committee to receive a response from the inspector-general after such inquiry has been completed. Through the committee's review and through its review of the bill's predecessor in the 47th Parliament, the Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2023, the committee held two public hearings and received 23 written submissions, most of which supported the bill's core measures.”
“The SONIC Bill proposes to expand the oversight functions of the committee and of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security to include all 10 agencies of the national intelligence community. This includes the whole of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission as well as the intelligence functions of the Australian Federal Police, AUSTRAC and the Department of Home Affairs. The bill also broadens the own-motion powers of the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor and includes measures to strengthen the relationship between the three oversight bodies. In relation to the committee, the bill will give statutory recognition to the increasing role the committee has had in recent years in reviewing counterterrorism and national security legislation.”
“On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I present the committee's A dvisory report on the Strengthening Oversight of the National Intelligence Community Bill 2025 . Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e). by leave—The Strengthening Oversight of the National Intelligence Community Bill 2025, also known as the SONIC Bill, represents arguably the most significant reform to oversight of the Australian intelligence community since the 1980s. The bill realises important and long-awaited reforms that have been recommended by multiple independent reviews over a number of years. The bill will ensure that Australia's intelligence oversight framework evolves in line with the increasingly complex intelligence and security environment.”
“The more signatures that we can record on this petition, whether it be through my website or physically in my office, will send a strong signal to all levels of government—to local, to state and to federal—and underscore the urgency of this matter that we must make Woy Woy Road safer.”
“The intersection upgrade project is one of 29 projects to be delivered by council through the $93 million Central Coast Roads Package, which is 100 per cent funded by the Australian government. This project will deliver immediate improvements to traffic flow, reducing the vehicle queue lengths, and will make the existing road environment safer for all road users—including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians—with signalised crossings of each leg of the intersection. The Albanese Labor government will continue to invest in vital infrastructure projects across the Central Coast in this 48th parliamentary term. I want to again encourage my community right across the Central Coast to support my petition to fix Woy Woy Road.”
“The Australian government will provide funding to the New South Wales government to commence the necessary investigation and planning works for this much-needed project. This project will include the duplication of sections of the single-lane road and upgrades to intersections along the very busy road corridor. Lastly our government's $93 million Central Coast Roads Package has made a real difference to local road infrastructure. Several local roads in the region have received renewal works, including the Esplanade and Bourke Road in Ettalong Beach, Beach Street in Umina Beach and Debenham Road South in West Gosford, amongst others. Excitingly the much-anticipated upgrade to the intersection of Ocean Beach Road and Rawson Road in Woy Woy is taking shape, with progress moving closer to the construction phase.”
“This will include consideration of the intersection of Empire Bay Drive and Wards Hill Road. The Empire Bay Drive and Wards Hill Road intersection is used by thousands of motorists each day and is an important transport connection to Empire Bay Public School. It also provides access to the Bouddi National Park. These vital planning works will have a road safety focus and deliver a business case for future upgrades. I look forward to continuing to update the Central Coast community on the progress of this project as it reaches important milestones. Our record investment in infrastructure also includes $115 million for the upgrade of Terrigal Drive. Terrigal Drive through Terrigal and Erina is another notorious choke point for motorists in the region.”
“The upgrade will also provide safe and efficient access for the local community to key destinations along the route, including to Kincumber Village Shopping Centre, several schools, and sporting facilities in the area. The concept design and environmental assessment for the priority first stage is expected to be displayed to the community soon for feedback. I encourage all who are interested in this development to review the concept design and provide feedback. In addition to our Avoca Drive upgrade through Kincumber, we have also committed funding for $15 million towards upgrades to several intersections in the Empire Bay and Bensville communities. The Empire Bay Drive Intersection Strategy planning project will deliver a strategy to upgrade intersections servicing Empire Bay and surrounding communities.”
“Ms Tesch has also requested that Transport for New South Wales investigates whether average speed cameras could also play a role in reducing speeding on Woy Woy Road. I'm proud of the work that the Albanese Labor government has done since its election in 2022 and the investments it has made in local road infrastructure on the New South Wales Central Coast. The Avoca Drive upgrade through Kincumber is charging ahead with the recent announcement of the prioritised first stage. The Australian and New South Wales governments are investing over $130 million towards the upgrade of this road to improve traffic flow and deliver infrastructure for active and public transport access on Avoca Drive through to the township of Kincumber.”
“I will continue to represent my community on this matter to all relevant ministers and their departments in the federal government. Another area of action that my community has requested to address safety along Woy Woy Road is to increase the number of police patrols taking place. Many residents have said that they often see reckless and dangerous driving along Woy Woy Road daily. If there were more highway patrol police or mobile speed cameras on this road, many community members believe that these measures would be a strong deterrent. I welcome the support of our state member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch MP, who has written to the New South Wales minister for regional roads and transport and requested that Transport for New South Wales investigate the implementation of a speed camera at known speeding locations on Woy Woy Road.”
“The federal government facilitates several funding programs to support regions to undertake improvements and to maintain existing infrastructure. The Roads to Recovery Program is one such initiative is designed to support the construction and maintenance of the nation's local road infrastructure assets, which facilitate greater accessibility, improves safety, as well as economic and social outcomes for Australians. Funding under the RTR program is available to all local governments in Australia for projects delivered through councils. I have spoken to Central Coast Council about this program and I have encouraged them to apply for funding. Similarly, I have raised the issue of Woy Woy Road with the relevant federal minister and placed this matter on their radar for any upcoming support from the Australian government.”
“Joshua is survived by his young wife, Brooke, and son, Jai. Joshua's mother, Tara, continues to advocate for safety improvements along Woy Woy Road and has been a pivotal voice in establishing this petition. Tara is supporting my campaign to fix Woy Woy Road and has said that she believes improvements to Woy Woy Road, like the construction of centre strip bollards, may have saved her son's life. Tara does not want another family on the Central Coast, or another family across this nation, for that matter, to go through the same devastating experience that she had to endure. Thank you, Tara, for all of your advocacy. Thank you for all of your support. Our community appreciates your tireless passion for positive change following this tragedy.”
“Since launching the petition in late September, my office and I have recorded over 500 signatures of people who want to see action taken to fix Woy Woy Road. I will continue to collect and I'll continue to record those signatures over the coming months. I invite residents living on the Central Coast to either visit my website to complete that petition online or to come into my office to complete the physical petition itself. I'd like to commend and recognise the bravery of Central Coast mother Tara Dibben, who tragically lost her son, Joshua Dibben, on Woy Woy Road in 2023. Joshua was travelling along Woy Woy Road on 26 October of that same year when his Toyota HiAce van collided with another vehicle. Emergency services rushed to the scene and worked to save Joshua's life. However, he could not be revived.”
“As the federal member for Robertson, which includes the area encompassing Woy Woy Road, I have received correspondence from the community inquiring about what action the federal government can take to help address the issues affecting Woy Woy Road. After some careful deliberation and following discussions with my state and local government counterparts, I have launched a petition to fix Woy Woy Road. The objective of this petition is to raise awareness for Woy Woy Road and what potential measures and, ultimately, funding can be implemented by all three levels of government. I aim to register as many signatures as possible on this petition so that I can demonstrate to all three levels of government and their departments the concern in my community about Woy Woy Road and the urgent action that is required.”
“The Central Coast has over 2,000 kilometres of local roads managed by the Central Coast Council, a large network of infrastructure to maintain. The Central Coast Council has responsibility for managing and addressing safety matters affecting Woy Woy Road. Woy Woy Road is a busy commuter thoroughfare for residents travelling to and from the M1 from the peninsula or sounding suburbs. As the population has increased over the last decade, so too has the volume of traffic passing through Woy Woy Road, which has led to a number of crashes in recent years, some involving fatalities. There's been increasing feedback from the community about the design of the road and that this design leads to risky driver behaviour and, in turn, leads to more crashes.”
“Dr Hourigan says that she has been very fortunate to have been trusted by her patients and community and that it has enabled her to address health care inequalities on the Central Coast, but now Dr Hourigan is retiring. I place on the record my immense appreciation of a spectacular career dedicated to helping and supporting patients, particularly women and those in our community who are most vulnerable. Dr Hourigan leaves behind a legacy, and I wish her all the best in her retirement. You'll be greatly missed by the medical community. Thank you, Dr Hourigan.”
“When I found out about the refuge medical outreach service, I wanted to do everything I could to support that service. The service now has a paid doctor, a speech therapist, an occupational therapist and paediatricians working at that refuge. There have also been research papers published on this service's work. Dr Hourigan also ran an outreach medical clinic for Aboriginal women undergoing drug and alcohol rehabilitation, provided trauma informed care for women with complex mental and physical issues, promoted better management of menopause and other hormone related conditions and worked to improve the outcomes of women experiencing endometriosis who can't afford therapy.”
“She was able to treat the infections, treat the injuries, arrange counselling, get the children vaccinated and do preventive health checks—but, most of all, support them and give them hope. Dr Hourigan was supported by a nurse and had a very dedicated speech therapist to assess and help the children. This early intervention was invaluable to their engagement in education, and many of the women and children that Dr Hourigan treated were Aboriginal Australians. Dr Hourigan has said that her work during this period was very rewarding and that it meant a great deal to be part of a team that was helping Aboriginal women and children reconnect to country, spirituality and kinship. The strength and resilience of the women and children in the refuges never cease to amaze Dr Hourigan.”
“After all of this incredible work, Dr Hourigan still wanted to do more, so she moved back into mainstream general practice to support and train general practices on how to recognise family and domestic violence in their patients and how to respond to support the family. It became clear to Dr Hourigan after talking to GPs that many victims of family and domestic violence could not access general practice due to coercive control. The only solution was for her to go into three women's and children's refuges on the Central Coast and bring medical care to these marginalised and disadvantaged women and children. Dr Hourigan volunteered her time to care for these women and children, who were experiencing severe injuries, advanced infections, sleep and behavioural disturbances, speech and developmental delay—in children—and poor mental health.”
“During this time, she established the first GP led clinic to help women suffering from incontinence, ran community education sessions to promote better health in the community, assisted women and children experiencing domestic and sexual violence, trained GPs in women's health and IED insertion techniques, mentored GPs, ran clinics for adolescent girls at Gosford headspace for four years, did pro bono work to help women from different cultures who couldn't access Medicare and volunteered her time on a women's health board and on panels to promote better health services for women.”
“Dr Hourigan then decided to help solo GPs working in remote areas, undertaking locum work to give them much-needed reprieve. Dr Hourigan tells me that she realised then that general practice isn't just about caring for individual patients; it's about improving the health outcomes of communities as a whole. She then spent 15 years working as a GP in Chatswood and Gosford before deciding to do more training to be a women's health GP and working out of a community women's health centre on the Central Coast. Dr Hourigan worked for 20 years at the centre.”
“Today I'd like to recognise, in this parliament, an outstanding medical professional and doctor on the Central Coast: Dr Colette Hourigan. Dr Hourigan's career has included a number of unique and fulfilling roles across her 42 years of medical service. I asked Dr Hourigan recently to give me some of the highlights of her amazing career. In the following is some insight into that tremendous professional life. Dr Hourigan grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and attended local public schools. She graduated from Sydney university and then went on to work at Royal North Shore Hospital, where the first two years of her working life as a doctor corresponded with the New South Wales statewide specialist doctors strike.”
“My question is to the Acting Prime Minister. How are the Albanese Labor government's historic investments in Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme helping Australians with the cost of living and with access to the health care that they need? Why is this important after a decade of cuts and neglect?”
“I would like to wholeheartedly thank the Tarragal Glen Residents Committee—and a big thanks to Mr Peter Speers on his tireless efforts and contributions to make our community safer. I know these AEDs will be life-saving in emergency situations. My support also goes to community and committee member Mr Jim Skene on his support for this project and for all of his work alongside Mr Speers.”
“I'm also pleased to note that Mr Speers has organised training via e-modules for the 500 village residents on how to appropriately use the AEDs during emergencies and has partnered with retired GP Dr John Anderson to facilitate further face-to-face training exercises on familiarisation with the AEDs. As an emergency doctor at Wyong, I can attest to the benefits of AEDs strategically located throughout our community. AEDs increase the likelihood of survival by up to 70 per cent if applied within the first minutes of cardiac arrest. The devices are designed for the general public, providing step-by-step instructions. They provide immediate life-saving assistance before the paramedics arrive. AEDs are outstanding medical devices and I'm comforted knowing that, now, more are operating within my community.”
“The Tarragal Glen Residents Committee chairman, Mr Peter Speers, along with committee member Mr Jim Skene have been pivotal in supporting and bringing this project to fruition. Both individuals are responsible for devising and implementing this project through the committee. To obtain the AEDs Peter and Jim completed an application of funding support through the Australian government's Stronger Communities Program. The project was successful in receiving $16,200 to purchase six defibrillators, which have now been installed in weatherproof cabinets that are strategically placed around the Tarragal Glen village. In addition to this, one of the six defibrillators has been placed in the village bus to ensure coverage and access during journeys outside the village, in the community.”
“I would like to commend the Tarragal Glen Residents Committee on its work procuring and installing several automatic external defibrillators, or AEDs, on site to assist residents to respond quickly to emergency situations. An AED is a portable medical device that can save the life of someone in cardiac arrest by delivering an electric shock to the heart. Anyone can use an AED, because it analyses the heart's rhythm— A division having been called in the House of Representatives— Sitting suspended from 10:24 to 10:46 I would like to commend the Tarragal Glen Residents Committee on its work to procure and install several automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, onsite to assist residents to respond quickly in emergency situations.”
“It is making sure that preventive health measures are put in place so that these chronic diseases don't spiral out of control, aren't exacerbated and don't require an emergency department admission. It is making sure that hypertension remains low and that cholesterol remains low so it doesn't become a heart attack or a stroke. That is this government's focus. This government's focus is to make sure that we are funding bulk-billing and that we are sustaining the beating heart that is our healthcare system: bulk-billing.”
“Yet again, we mark another chapter in our nation's history books: the chapter where the health of the nation is strengthened—a chapter focused on health care for all Australians and not just some. The Albanese government is making the single largest investment in Medicare since its creation over 40 years ago. Over $8.5 billion is being invested into Medicare to make sure that patients can get the care that they need when they need it. It is also supporting our Australian doctors—our Australian general practitioners—the backbone of our health workforce. This isn't just a commitment for those practices and for those GPs; it is making sure that GPs can focus on what they do, and that is preventive primary health care.”
“One pharmacist who I have had the privilege of working with closely is Trent Playford. Trent is an experienced and community driven pharmacist with nearly 20 years in the profession. He's the owner of the West Gosford pharmacy and Priceline Pharmacy Kincumber, where he leads a team committed to delivering innovative, patient focused health care right across the Central Coast. I want to thank Trent and his team for all of their fantastic work in our community, and I want to thank all of our hardworking pharmacists on the Central Coast and across Australia. The work you do improves health outcomes and saves lives.”
“On 25 September the world, including Australians, marked World Pharmacists Day, an opportunity to recognise and to celebrate the important role of pharmacists in meeting the healthcare needs in our communities right across the country. This year, the theme was 'Think health, think pharmacy first'. It highlights how community pharmacists are stepping up to deliver more health care than ever before, helping communities access care faster, closer to home and more equitably. Across the country, pharmacists are transforming how patients access care, and Australia has more than 6,000 community pharmacies, with almost 500 million patient visits per year. They are one of the most trusted professions. On the Central Coast, I have met many outstanding local pharmacists who provide exceptional health care.”
“It's making sure that our GPs across Australia are given the opportunity and time to see the patients that they see in the preventive health space. Then there is also the emergency component. Patients going to the emergency department, prior to the establishment of these urgent care clinics, would sometimes be waiting hours. I know that, in hospitals across New South Wales, sometimes they've been waiting 15-plus hours as a category 4 or 5 patient because they didn't have anywhere else to go, and they've been going through the fast-track or house doctor section of ED. But, now that they've got somewhere to go, we're seeing a reduction in EDs of these non-urgent cases. And now, if you're too sick for the GP and not sick enough for the emergency department, under the Albanese Labor government you finally have somewhere to go.”
“I'm proud to be part of a government that has led the way on healthcare reform, particularly in the creation of new models of care. We went to the first election only promising 50; we now have them right across the country, in every corner of the country, taking the pressure off our emergency departments. But they're also taking the pressure off our general practitioners, whose focus should be preventive health care. Most of primary care is the prevention of disease. That might be looking at your cholesterol levels, prescribing cholesterol medication and making sure that that doesn't then progress to a stroke or a heart attack. It's making sure, for patients with diabetes, that their kidney function is okay and their sugars are intact so that they don't end up going to an emergency department.”
“But the treatment has already begun. So, by the time they enter the resus bay—by the time they enter that acute bed in the ED—the treatment has already begun, and the patient is starting to improve. Sepsis is a great example of that. I mentioned severe pneumonia before. In sepsis we talk about the 'golden hour'—making sure that we can get those IV antibiotics and IV fluids on board, and all the necessary investigations and medical imaging done—and it has already started, because they've gone to the urgent care clinic and seen these world-class doctors, who are able to provide urgent and sometimes emergent care, and the mortality rate of these patients will decrease because they are getting the therapy that they need within the golden hour. So the urgent care network is something I am extremely proud of.”