PM: This is a major regional hospital in Australia and the Government is currently engaged in consultations nation-wide on the recommendations of the Health Reform Commission about how we build the health and hospital system Australia needs for the 21st Century. This is full of challenges - goes to what we're going to do for the future of preventative care, to deal with the challenge of the explosion in chronic diseases, how we enhance primary care or GP-related services in communities such as this around Australia, because that's so important to keep some of the pressure off the emergency departments of hospitals like this as well.
The Government, as I explained to those here, will be spending the rest of this year consulting around the nation - major metropolitan hospitals, major regional hospitals, and some rural hospitals to test the recommendations which have been put forward by the Health and Hospital Reform Commission against local, community and regional reactions from the health professionals here.
So I'd thank each of those who spent time with us here this morning on their particular representations. We, as a national community, have got to get on with the business of integrated, long-term reform of the health and hospital system, and that means the future of important regional hospitals like this.
The truth is, in regions like this, population's going through the roof. The truth is that in regions like this you see an aging of the population as well, a lot of people making the sea change move from Sydney and elsewhere to have their retirement in communities like this. And also, there are young people, like the ones I've just mentioned over there, with the usual range of health challenges as well.
Therefore, our challenge is not just to focus on how do we fix this bit and that bit of the system - how do we take an overall view about proper funding, investment and allocation of responsibilities between the state and the Australian governments for the long-term reform of this system for the 21st Century.
That's why we're here in Port Macquarie today and I'd thank Rob Oakeshott for organising the visit here to the hospital. It's been, for me, a very useful exchange.