Media Releases

The Nationals member for Lowan Hugh Delahunty is urging people in the Lowan electorate to have their eyes checked during Macular Degeneration Week from May 27 to June 2.

“The awareness campaign is aimed at reducing the incidence and impact of macular degeneration in Australia,” Mr Delahunty said.

“Macular Degeneration (MD) causes central vision loss and is the leading cause of blindness in Australia.  MD central vision loss affects the ability to see fine detail, read and recognise faces. It affects one in seven people aged over 50.”

The theme of MD Awareness Week 2012 is “Keep your family in the picture.”

Mr Delahunty said while there is no cure, there are treatments that can slow the progression of this disease.

“The earlier the problem is detected, the better chance there is of retaining more vision.”

“I strongly urge everyone in western Victoria to have the health of their eyes checked leading up to or during Macular Degeneration Awareness Week. We should never take our eyesight for granted,” Mr Delahunty said.

For more information contact the Macular Degeneration Foundation on 1800 111 709 or visit the website www.mdfoundation.com.au

The Nationals member for Lowan Hugh Delahunty is again going in the Horsham Mother’s Day Classic to be held Mother’s Day, Sunday 13th May.

“The Mother’s Day Classic event helps to raise money for breast cancer research and to remember those who have lost their battles with breast cancer and to those who have survived,” Mr Delahunty said.

“In addition to a fun morning out and raising some money for Breast Cancer, many use it as an opportunity to pay tribute to a family member or friend who has been affected by Breast Cancer.”

Mr Delahunty said this year’s event will be held at Horsham Soundshell, Sawyer Park. Registrations can be made on the following website motherdaysclassic.com.au or on the morning from 8.00am onwards at Sawyer Park.  Also at this time you will be able to purchase merchandise and participate in the warm up and then at 9.00am the Walk/Run will commence.

The Horsham Mother’s Day Classic event is now in its third year and has had been a success and has attracted over 500 participants and raising over $6,000 each year for breast cancer research.
“I am encouraging as many people as possible to come along and join in the Mother’s Day Classic which is not only for a worthy cause but is also an opportunity to get active and spend time with family and friends on Mother’s Day,” Mr Delahunty said.

 

The Nationals Member for Lowan and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Hugh Delahunty in Parliament today spoke about the importance of Anzac Day next week.

“I encourage members of the community to buy a badge and attend local Anzac Day commemorations to pay homage to our dedicated service men and women and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our great country, Australia,” Mr Delahunty said.

Many Anzac Day services will be held throughout the Lowan electorate and details are published in local media outlets.

Mr Delahunty also spoke about attending a number of activities in the Lowan electorate.

“I attended the recent launch of the challenge by BreastScreen Victoria to women in the Southern Grampians area to take care of their health.  This free program is specifically designed to target women 50 to 69 years as this is the age group most at risk of developing breast cancer,” he said.

“I am also encouraging women from across the Southern Grampians Shire and south west Victoria to take the opportunity to be screened,” Mr Delahunty said.

“In my role as Minister for Sport and Recreation I attended the iconic Stawell Easter Gift and my congratulations go to Matthew Wiltshire from Ballarat who won this year’s Australia Post Stawell Gift.  Matthew was running off eight meters and won by a 10th of a second to record the time of 12.22 seconds.  I also congratulate Melissa Breen on winning the women’s gift with a time of 13.95 seconds,” Mr Delahunty said.

“I congratulate to the members of the Stawell Athletic Club in again providing a wonderful athletics carnival which provided an economic boost to Stawell and western Victoria.”

“Last Friday I was honoured to represent the Deputy Premier and Minister for Police and Emergency Services at the opening of the new Balmoral Police Station,” Mr Delahunty said.

A large crowd was present to celebrate the opening of the new police station including representatives from the Southern Grampians Shire, the Balmoral community and Victoria Police.

“Law and order is a top priority in the Lowan electorate and I congratulate Victoria Police and particularly Leading Senior Constable Peter Mailes in their dedication to the safety of the Balmoral and district community,” he said.

The Nationals Member for Lowan Hugh Delahunty has commended the Horsham College which will join a number of schools across the state in hosting a community forum focused on providing parents with tips for dealing with alcohol and teenagers.
“These forums, to be held in April and May, would provide parents with important information about
Victoria’s new alcohol laws and advice about what to do if their teenager asks to drink at a party,” Mr Delahunty said.
In making the announcement Minister Dixon said parents are sometimes faced with situations where their 16 or 17-year-old asks to drink at a party, and when the parent says ‘no,’ the child says, ‘but everyone else is allowed to, why can’t I?’"
“These forums are a great way to provide parents with helpful advice about how to handle these tricky situations and how to talk to their kids about the very real dangers of alcohol consumption at a young age.”
The Minister said the forums, organised by the Victorian Government in partnership with the Australian Drug Foundation, VicHealth and the Barwon Adolescent Taskforce, built on the good work already being done by the Victorian Coalition Government to reduce alcohol-related harm to young people.
“The Coalition Government introduced laws in November making it illegal to serve alcohol in a private home to anyone under 18, unless their parents have given permission,” Mr Delahunty said.
Adults who break the new law face fines of more than $7,000, which is the same amount a licensee would be fined for selling alcohol to a minor.
Mr Delahunty said details of the law changes were also included in a series of alcohol fact sheets for parents, created by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in partnership with the Australian Drug Foundation.
The eight fact sheets provide a quick and easy guide for parents about the risks of teenage drinking and what they can do to send the right messages to their child that underage drinking can create risks and problems that may affect a young person for the rest of their life.
For updated alcohol fact sheets for parents, visit:
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/programs/drugeducation/tchengagepar.htm#H2N10378

In a move that has been welcomed by the Nationals Member for Lowan, Hugh Delahunty, Victoria will soon have legislation that sets out clear expectations for organisations that engage with carers.
“The Coalition Government has honoured an election commitment with the introduction of the Carers Recognition Bill 2012 which recognises all carers, including young carers, kinship and foster cares and acknowledges the valued role of cares in Victoria,” Mr Delahunty said.

“Over 700,000 Victorians are caring for a family member or friend with a disability, mental or chronic illness or someone frail aged and carers need to be recognised for the enormous contribution they are making to the community and deserve our full support.”

“Family carers save the Australian Federal Government more than $40 billion every year and many struggle with the demands of the role.  This legislation will help carers gain better support when dealing with agencies and organisations,” Mr Delahunty said.

Community Services Minister, Mary Wooldridge said that the Bill which she outlined in Parliament will raise the status of these cares and care relationships in the community and sets out principles recognising cares for their contribution.

Ms Wooldridge said the Bill would bring Victoria into line with legislation in other states and territories and the Commonwealth.

“However, the Bill is unique in recognising care relationships.  Carers and the people they care for are in a shared arrangement and if the care relationship is strong, the carer and the person being cared for will have better lives,” Ms Wooldridge said.

“This approach to recognising the significance of care relationships has been the subject of extensive consultation.”

The legislation requires government and funded agencies to reflect the care relationship principles in the conduct of their business and report annually on the actions they have taken to comply with the principles.

The Victorian Charter “Supporting People in Care Relationships’ will be updated to reflect the new legislation and will support implementation of the Bill.

 

 

The Victorian community will benefit from an extra $440 million in funding for public hospitals as a result the successful COAG outcome negotiated in Canberra earlier this year.

 The Nationals Member for Lowan Hugh Delahunty said the Western District Health Service would get a $3.5 million boost from the allocation to expand its services for people recovering after a hospital stay or after illness or injury.

 During a recent visit to the Alfred Hospital with the federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon, Mr Davis, State Minister for Health said the Victorian community would benefit from the deal negotiated by the Premier at COAG in February.

 “The funding under the National Partnership Agreement on Improving Public Hospital Services will support the Victorian Government’s commitment to improved access to elective surgery, treatment in emergency departments and subacute care,” Mr Davis said.

 “This funding will provide Western District Health Service with refurbishment of five subacute beds, and expand the subacute unit by a three further beds,” Mr Delahunty said.

 “This was a great announcement for the local community.

 “The residents of the Lowan electorate are entitled to top‑quality health services in their community and the Western District Health Service is a very important part of the local community.  I am delighted that we are able to support the development of rehabilitation services in such a significant way,” Mr Delahunty said.

Mr Davis said the agreement will fund the treatment for an extra 32,000 Victorian patients this year. Funding of $89.4 million will also flow from the agreement to new capital projects across 13 health services (20 campuses) that will increase elective surgery and emergency department capacity and improve patient care.

 These projects will see the opening of 106 new hospital beds, including at least 60 short stay beds, six intensive care and additional high dependency beds. Emergency department treatment will be streamlined with 20 emergency department cubicles built plus additional recovery bays, theatres, procedure rooms and day surgery capacity.

 Mr Davis said the Government has made a commitment to initiatives to reduce access blockages and free up capacity in hospital emergency departments, and to a more equitable approach to elective surgery for patients currently waiting for their surgery.

 “This agreement also provides significant new investment in subacute services for people recovering after a hospital stay or after an illness or injury,” Mr Davis said. 

$115.3 million of the sub acute capital investment will be in Melbourne and $61.6 million in country Victoria, this will provide services to an extra 3600 patients.

The subacute investment will provide 326 new sub acute beds, centre and home based care in Victoria over four years.

 Mr Davis said 19 hospitals and health services would share in the subacute expansion.

 Victoria welcomes this additional investment in its health services.

 However, the Victorian Government continues to remain concerned that the Victorian community is not getting its fair share of Commonwealth funding.  The outcome of last week’s Federal budget is another example of Victoria missing out.

 Victoria received just $182.5 million for 15 projects under the Health and Hospitals Regional Priority Round, representing around 14 per cent of the $1,328.8 million that was invested in projects across Australia, well below Victoria’s population share of 25 per cent.  This is a poor outcome compared with $446.4 million for New South Wales, $243 million for Tasmania (including $250 million for the Royal Hobart Hospital Redevelopment) and $163.9 million for Queensland.

 Victoria will also miss out on funding for long-stay older patients, receiving only $33.2 million over three years under the National Partnership (NP) on financial assistance for long-stay older patients, representing a 12 per cent share of the available funding. The 2010-11 Federal Budget estimated that Victoria would receive $70 million over three years based on a per capita share.

 The new funding share is based on a census of long stay older patients. Victoria has a relatively low number of long-stay older patients due to significant state investment to reduce length of stay.

  

 

The Victorian community will benefit from an extra $440 million in funding for public hospitals as a result the successful COAG outcome negotiated in Canberra earlier this year.

 

The Nationals Member for Lowan Hugh Delahunty said the Wimmera Health Care Group will get a $10 million boost from the allocation to increase its number of subacute beds for people recovering after a hospital stay or after illness or injury.

 

During a recent visit to the Alfred Hospital with the federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon, Mr Davis, State Minister for Health said the Victorian community would benefit from the deal negotiated by the Premier at COAG in February.

 

“The funding under the National Partnership Agreement on Improving Public Hospital Services will support the Victorian Government’s commitment to improved access to elective surgery, treatment in emergency departments and subacute care,” Mr Davis said.

 

Mr Delahunty said the funding would provide Wimmera Health Care Group with 20 new subacute beds.

 

“this was a great announcement for the local community.

 

“The residents of the Lowan electorate are entitled to top‑quality health services in their community and the Wimmera Health Care Group is a very important part of the local community.  I am delighted that we are able to support the development of rehabilitation services in such a significant way,” Mr Delahunty said.

Mr Davis said the agreement will fund the treatment for an extra 32,000 Victorian patients this year. Funding of $89.4 million will also flow from the agreement to new capital projects across 13 health services (20 campuses) that will increase elective surgery and emergency department capacity and improve patient care.

 

These projects will see the opening of 106 new hospital beds, including at least 60 short stay beds, six intensive care and additional high dependency beds. Emergency department treatment will be streamlined with 20 emergency department cubicles built plus additional recovery bays, theatres, procedure rooms and day surgery capacity.

 

Mr Davis said the Government has made a commitment to initiatives to reduce access blockages and free up capacity in hospital emergency departments, and to a more equitable approach to elective surgery for patients currently waiting for their surgery.

 

“This agreement also provides significant new investment in subacute services for people recovering after a hospital stay or after an illness or injury,” Mr Davis said.

 

$115.3 million of the sub acute capital investment will be in Melbourne and $61.6 million in country Victoria, this will provide services to an extra 3600 patients.

 

The subacute investment will provide 326 new sub acute beds, centre and home based care in Victoria over four years.

 

Mr Davis said 19 hospitals and health services would share in the subacute expansion.

 

Victoria welcomes this additional investment in its health services.

 

However, the Victorian Government continues to remain concerned that the Victorian community is not getting its fair share of Commonwealth funding.  The outcome of last week’s Federal budget is another example of Victoria missing out.

 

Victoria received just $182.5 million for 15 projects under the Health and Hospitals Regional Priority Round, representing around 14 per cent of the $1,328.8 million that was invested in projects across Australia, well below Victoria’s population share of 25 per cent.  This is a poor outcome compared with $446.4 million for New South Wales, $243 million for Tasmania (including $250 million for the Royal Hobart Hospital Redevelopment) and $163.9 million for Queensland.

 

Victoria will also miss out on funding for long-stay older patients, receiving only $33.2 million over three years under the National Partnership (NP) on financial assistance for long-stay older patients, representing a 12 per cent share of the available funding. The 2010-11 Federal Budget estimated that Victoria would receive $70 million over three years based on a per capita share.

 

The new funding share is based on a census of long stay older patients. Victoria has a relatively low number of long-stay older patients due to significant state investment to reduce length of stay.

 

 

 

 

The Nationals Member for Lowan, Hugh Delahunty has today slammed the Brumby Government, after news that there are to be more delays in the construction of the new Horsham Ambulance Station.

“In early 2007 I first raised in Parliament the concerns about the Horsham ambulance station which has extensive termite damage, limited female staff amenities, and only one room for training, storage and sleeping,” Mr Delahunty said.

“Ambulance staff also raised concerns, but during a Community Cabinet visit to Horsham in October 2008 no Government official would visit the station, which if privately owned I believe would be condemned by WorkSafe.

“Finally, in March 2009 the Minister for Health Daniel Andrews announced that funding had been granted for a new station in Horsham.

“My understanding is that a new ambulance station plan has been approved, land has been acquired, the Horsham Rural City Council has given planning approval, and everyone anticipated that the plans had gone to tender for construction.

“Now I am appalled to hear that the Minister’s office wants to re-visit the approved plans and make changes, which will cause more lengthy delays,” he said.

With increasing media reports on a crisis in ambulance services state-wide it is vital that this upgrade goes ahead as soon as possible.

“Make no mistake, western Victorians have a high regard for the tremendous work undertaken by our trained ambulance personnel but inadequate facility provisions within Ambulance Victoria for rural emergencies is of major concern,’ he said.

“Country Victorians deserve better facilities and services; metropolitan people would not tolerate this, and neither will we.

“I call on the Minister for Health to stop dragging his heels, and to get on with this vital project to house the promised increase in ambulance staff, and to provide improved ambulance services to the Wimmera area,” Mr Delahunty said.

The Nationals Member for Lowan Hugh Delahunty today applauded the Liberal Nationals announcement that if it wins the November election it will provide a new Single Responder Unit (SRU) to Horsham as well as nine MICA SRUs in other parts of regional Victoria.

“The Single Responder Unit allows a single officer, a MICA-trained officer, to reach an incident quickly and effectively and work with the regular ambulance service,” Mr Delahunty said.

“There would also be SRU stationed in Warrnambool which would also be a boost and compliment the Rescue Helicopter that was finally stationed in western Victoria after a long fight by local residents.”

The SRUs will deliver MICA care through a 24-hour roster providing life-saving specialist-trained paramedics, significantly boosting ambulatory care in western Victoria.

“This is great news for residents living in western Victoria and visitors to our region as they will now have highly-trained paramedics available to provide much needed care during an emergency,” Mr Delahunty said.

“The Coalition’s plan also provides for 310 new ambulance paramedics, 210 of which will be based in country Victoria and an additional 30 patient transport officers allocated to country Victoria.”

Mr Delahunty said that on many occasions in Parliament he had raised concerns about western Victorian ambulance services, especially in Horsham where there is only one ambulance crew overnight which services the Western Highway from Ballarat to the South Australian border.

“I am pleased the Coalition commitment will provide the MICA units which are so urgently needed to service the people of western Victoria.”

“Labor has had 11 years and the money to fix the crisis in our ambulance service and all we have heard is excuses from a tired government,” Mr Delahunty said.

The Nationals Member for Lowan, Hugh Delahunty is encouraging western Victorians to say “thank you” to their local GPs by nominating standout doctors for a Victorian Rural Doctors’ Award.

 

Communities can nominate a doctor who has made an outstanding contribution to rural and regional communities, or worked in rural and regional health for less than two years and demonstrated strong community engagement, or has contributed 35 years or more service to rural communities.

 

“The annual Doctors’ Awards acknowledge Victoria’s regional and rural doctors and their families, for their dedication and commitment to our communities,” Mr Delahunty said.

 

“Many of Victoria’s doctors sustain our regions and so the awards give communities an opportunity to show their gratitude.”

 

Nomination applications and guidelines can be found at www.rwav.com.au/awards and close on 30 July, 2010.

 

Mr Delahunty said that general practitioners and other specialists who work in rural and regional Victoria are also eligible for the annual awards.

 

An awards ceremony and dinner will honour this year’s Victorian Rural Doctors’ Award recipients and their families will be held in Melbourne in late October.

 

“Victorian Rural Doctors’ Award recipients come from across Victoria but last year there were no nominations from the Lowan electorate, so it would be great to give our local, hardworking doctors the recognition they deserve,” Mr Delahunty said.