Ms WALKER - 2008-09-10
Can you update the House on the commitment to develop a 10 -year Heart Health Plan?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, during the election campaign, the government made a commitment to deliver a $45m 10-year Heart Health Plan. This follows on from the blueprint developed by Professor Phillip Harris, one of Australia’s eminent cardiologists, and Professor Michael Frommer. In their report, they talked about developing cardiac services in the Northern Territory from 2006 to 2015.
There has already been some development since 2006, and this is the next step in government’s plan in improving heart health within the Northern Territory. The plan will first expand early intervention and prevention services ...
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister has already said that he is only interested in delivering resources to the Health department. Now he is making a policy announcement and he is doing exactly the sort of thing that he said was not his job.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Minister, please continue.
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, I will repeat: the plan will first expand early intervention and prevention services, as well as cardiac rehabilitation. By investing in primary health care with people in the early stages of cardiac disease, it will keep people healthier and reduce the level of more serious cardiac disease requiring surgery. We will provide cardiac stress testing machines at all regional hospitals to provide for the early detection of heart disease. Rehabilitation services will also be expanded to improve people’s recovery from heart attack, keep them healthy and get them back to work quicker if they are workers.
Specialist equipment will be upgraded at Royal Darwin and Alice Springs Hospitals. In addition, very significantly, we are planning to deliver specialist cardiac surgery services. This is a major commitment to deliver a highly specialised and complex service for the Territory. We will upgrade cardiac catheter facilities and develop the capacity for cardiothoracic surgery.
This is a very exciting plan. There is $45m behind it and it is over 10 years. I commend this to the House.
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Could the minister table the document he was reading from?
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker. The minister is not speaking from a document. He is referring to his own notes. The member for Fong Lim may be confused as to where he is.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, is the document you have personal notes or is it a document that you are willing to table?
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, I have no problem at all in tabling this document. It is personal notes for this particular question.
Madam SPEAKER: Bearing in mind that …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: It is up to the minister, Leader of Government Business. Minister, I am asking you, are those personal notes?
Dr BURNS: They are personal notes, Madam Speaker, and they have personal annotations on them.
Madam SPEAKER: If they have personal annotations, it is not necessary for you to table them unless you wish to.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This is a circus across the opposition.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: There is well established practice in this Chamber, that if a minister is speaking from notes that have personal annotations on them, they do not table.
Madam SPEAKER: I am very aware of that, thank you.
A member: So he is wrong?
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Minister, are you willing to table the documents? You do not have to. I am asking you if you are willing to table them?
Dr BURNS: No, Madam Speaker. They have my personal notes on them.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, that is what I have been trying to ascertain.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, during the election campaign, the government made a commitment to deliver a $45m 10-year Heart Health Plan. This follows on from the blueprint developed by Professor Phillip Harris, one of Australia’s eminent cardiologists, and Professor Michael Frommer. In their report, they talked about developing cardiac services in the Northern Territory from 2006 to 2015.
There has already been some development since 2006, and this is the next step in government’s plan in improving heart health within the Northern Territory. The plan will first expand early intervention and prevention services ...
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister has already said that he is only interested in delivering resources to the Health department. Now he is making a policy announcement and he is doing exactly the sort of thing that he said was not his job.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Minister, please continue.
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, I will repeat: the plan will first expand early intervention and prevention services, as well as cardiac rehabilitation. By investing in primary health care with people in the early stages of cardiac disease, it will keep people healthier and reduce the level of more serious cardiac disease requiring surgery. We will provide cardiac stress testing machines at all regional hospitals to provide for the early detection of heart disease. Rehabilitation services will also be expanded to improve people’s recovery from heart attack, keep them healthy and get them back to work quicker if they are workers.
Specialist equipment will be upgraded at Royal Darwin and Alice Springs Hospitals. In addition, very significantly, we are planning to deliver specialist cardiac surgery services. This is a major commitment to deliver a highly specialised and complex service for the Territory. We will upgrade cardiac catheter facilities and develop the capacity for cardiothoracic surgery.
This is a very exciting plan. There is $45m behind it and it is over 10 years. I commend this to the House.
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Could the minister table the document he was reading from?
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker. The minister is not speaking from a document. He is referring to his own notes. The member for Fong Lim may be confused as to where he is.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, is the document you have personal notes or is it a document that you are willing to table?
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, I have no problem at all in tabling this document. It is personal notes for this particular question.
Madam SPEAKER: Bearing in mind that …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: It is up to the minister, Leader of Government Business. Minister, I am asking you, are those personal notes?
Dr BURNS: They are personal notes, Madam Speaker, and they have personal annotations on them.
Madam SPEAKER: If they have personal annotations, it is not necessary for you to table them unless you wish to.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This is a circus across the opposition.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: There is well established practice in this Chamber, that if a minister is speaking from notes that have personal annotations on them, they do not table.
Madam SPEAKER: I am very aware of that, thank you.
A member: So he is wrong?
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Minister, are you willing to table the documents? You do not have to. I am asking you if you are willing to table them?
Dr BURNS: No, Madam Speaker. They have my personal notes on them.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, that is what I have been trying to ascertain.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016