Vic: Greens target health minister on home turf

AAP General News (Australia)
08-16-2006
Vic: Greens target health minister on home turf

MELBOURNE, Aug 16 AAP - A doctor with a plan to slash hospital waiting lists is challenging
Victoria's besieged Health Minister Bronwyn Pike for the seat she holds by less than two
per cent.

Greens candidate Richard Di Natale, a public health expert, also ran against Ms Pike
for the marginal seat of Melbourne in the 2002 election and came within 550 votes after
preferences of winning.

As Ms Pike faces increasing pressure over hospital waiting lists, Dr Di Natale today
released the Greens health policy which he said would cut waiting lists numbers before
they begin accumulating.

Under the Greens' four-year policy, $100 million would be earmarked for new community
health centres and another $100 million for home and community care, such as district
nurses.

General practitioners would be encouraged to work from community centres and the Greens
would spent $10 million on health promotion.

These "upstream" investments were the most practical way of tackling hospital waiting
lists, Dr Di Natale said.

"If we can just move away from the narrow focus on hospital waiting lists and focus
on these upstream factors - on health promotion, on providing services for people in the
community and on community health - then there will be a measurable and significant impact
on the public hospital system," he said.

"A dollar spent in health promotion is 10 times more cost-effective than money spent
on the acute tertiary system (in hospitals)."

Nevertheless, Dr Di Natale acknowledged many waiting list cases required unavoidable
surgery and said the Greens supported current government spending on public hospitals.

"What we're saying is, let's shift the debate to those things that we know are cost-effective
and will save lives in the longer term."

He rejected suggestions the Greens' policy would take years to filter through in addressing
lengthening waiting lists.

"If you walk into any emergency department you'll see a number of users of an emergency
facility that are there because they don't have the services at home.

"So providing services in that way has an immediate impact."

Dr Di Natale's chance of defeating a senior Bracks government minister at the November
25 election may rest on an influx of residents into the new and ritzy Docklands precinct
of the electorate since the last election.

If he won, he would become the first Greens MP in a lower house seat in Australia.

An increase of young people moving into the electorate since 2002 had given the Greens
confidence, he said.

"(Ms Pike) has got a very difficult job being a health minister and being an effective
local member.

"I'll make sure the people of Melbourne get effective local representation."

Dr Di Natale is a former GP who now works as a public health specialist and consults
on issues including HIV in under-developed regions, such as India.

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KEYWORD: GREENS

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