SUBJECTS: GP shortages; Ukraine; Russia’s act of aggression; local support and solidarity with Ukraine; threat of Covid virus; floods in Central Coast and in Queensland. 

DR GORDON REID, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR ROBERTSON: Good morning, everyone. Dr. Gordon Reid here. And I want to thank you all for coming. And I want to, in particular, thank Anthony Albanese, Leader the Australian Labor Party for coming here to the Central Coast, to the seat of Robertson, to discuss one of the biggest issues that's facing our people here today, and that is healthcare. In particular, access to and affordability of general practitioners. And I also want to thank Dr. Ian Charlton, one of the foundation general practitioners here on the Central Coast. I want to thank him for welcoming us into his practice, and for taking the time to have a discussion about many of the issues facing not only patients here on the Central Coast, but also general practitioners here and more broadly across Australia. So, I'd like to now hand over to Anthony Albanese. Thank you.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY:Thanks very much Dr. Charlton, firstly, for welcoming us to your practice, but Dr. Gordon Reid our fantastic candidate for the seat of Robertson at the federal election, which is now less than a short period away, less than 80 days away we suspect. Dr. Reid will make an enormous contribution as the Member for Robertson. He is someone who understands the Central Coast, he'll stand up for the priorities of the Central Coast, and there's no greater priority than health care. And one of the issues that continues to occur in the Coast is a shortage of GPS. We see in our outer suburban areas and regional communities such as the Central Coast. Now, this Government cut back on their distribution priority areas for GPs. What that means is that there is less incentive for GPs to be located here and to stay here for a period of time. To be tied here, to set up businesses and practices so that they can service the local community. We know that the Central Coast has large ageing population as well. People who, if they can't get access to a GP, they end up seeing Dr. Reid at the emergency, at hospital services. The cutback in GPs that is occurring and the shortages and the increased costs is really having an impact. And it's short sighted. A GP is an efficient way of delivering health care. They deliver a relationship between their patients and the local GP, one that's one of trust, that builds up. One that's based upon knowledge and knowing the patient as they as they progress through life. And Dr. Charlton has been here for how long?
 
DR IAN CHARLTON, GENERAL PRACTIONER: 30 years.
 
ALBANESE: 30 years. That's a relationship that builds up and it is one that can't be replaced. And that's why it's important that we have plans to make sure that all Australians, but particularly those here on the Central Coast, can get access to GP services. That's what our announcement’s about. It’s one that will assist people, particularly in our suburbs and regions like the Central Coast, to make an enormous difference going forward. And I want Dr. Reid as a strong voice for the health sector. Someone who has been to local school here at Umina and at Central Coast Grammar, someone who's serving in the health community here, and someone who will be a strong voice for the Central Coast as part of my team, along with, of course, Emma McBride, a bit further north, a qualified pharmacist. It would be fantastic to have such a strong health team coming from the Central Coast as part of a future Labor Government.
 
JOURNALIST: How would Labor support GPs in the regions going forward over the next few years?
 
ALBANESE: By having the designation given to the Central Coast. What it will mean is that there's an incentive for GPs to be located here and to stay here. We know that that has been successful in other areas. That’s why the system was created in the first place. But part of the cutbacks that have occurred under the Government to Medicare and to basic health services has been changes to the priority areas that were established. Now the Central Coast has had bits of it put back into the priority areas, but not the whole of the Central Coast. And that makes no sense whatsoever, we need these distribution priority areas to include the whole of the Central Coast.
 
JOURNALIST: And so you're saying that with those 11 new GPs that were brought into the region, and there were four areas of the district that were included on the distribution priority classification, is that not enough?
 
ALBANESE: It's not enough, you need the whole area included in terms of the classification. There's no explanation for why that hasn't occurred. And that's why we need to service the whole of the community. If you do just bits and pieces common sense tells you that what will occur is that there'll be more pressure on the areas that have been put into the priority areas. And that will lead to distortions. What we need to do is to make sure that the whole of the Central Coast gets the support that it needs. Our announcement today will do just that.
 
JOURNALIST: Just moving on to Ukraine quickly. How are you supporting the local Ukrainian community?
 
ALBANESE: I met with the Federation of Australian Ukrainian organisations in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago, and I've spoken to the leadership, including Stefan, in recent days. They're going through a really tough time. This afternoon, I'll be attending a church service in Newcastle, in Adamstown, at the Ukrainian church to express my support for the Ukrainian community. Ukraine is a sovereign state, the actions of Russia are the actions of an aggressive state. There's nothing to do with peacekeeping here. This is peace breaking. And as a result, innocent Ukrainians are suffering. They're suffering through death, they're suffering through injury, they're suffering through destruction of infrastructure. And they're showing incredible courage at this time. The actions of Russia are not the actions of a state that respects international law. And that's why the world has condemned these actions. That's why Australia stands united in supporting sanctions along with the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom, against Russia. And those sanctions need to be stepped up and need to be given support. It's important that we act in unison with our partners and allies, so that the impact on Russia is maximised to send a very clear message that Russia will also suffer as a result of its own aggressive actions
 
JOURNALIST: With those sanctions as well, what more could Australia be doing about Ukraine and Russia?
 
ALBANESE: We will continue to take advice, but we're not looking for product differentiation here. I think what is really important is that Australia's stands united in support of these actions. Australia, of course, is a considerable distance away from Ukraine, but that's why we need to act in unison with our allies and partners around the world so that there's a consistency in the actions coming through.
 
JOURNALIST: And what concerns do you have regarding China, and how they're responding so far?
 
ALBANESE: China should be calling this out as well. China needs to, like other nations, respect national sovereignty here. This is an extraordinary intervention by one nation state against a neighbour that does not represent a threat to Russia. I saw the Ukrainian President, it's quite an extraordinary statement, it goes for about 10 minutes, on the way up here of a day or so ago which he gave, in Russian, a message to the Russian people calling for people to call out the actions of Mr. Putin. And they are appropriate. What Australia should continue to do is to be vigilant, to make the strongest action possible, but in partnership with our allies and our friends.
 
JOURNALIST: How can locals take action against what’s happening in Russia and Ukraine?
 
ALBANESE: I think the support that Australians are showing to our Ukrainian friends, there are a range of measures have been suggested, including – I support this suggestion of Labor's New South Wales Leader, Chris Minns, that sending a message to the world by lighting up the Opera House in the Ukrainian national colours, would send that message to the world that would be seen by the people of Ukraine at this difficult time. But, as well, seen by the people of Russia. The Russian people are subject to considerable censorship. We need to get through to them, beyond the censorship that occurs in Russia, to show them that the world stands with Ukraine at this time. There are many practical ways, there are charities that can provide aid to the people of Ukraine. I encourage people to support those actions. This afternoon, the action that, I'll be lighting a candle in a Ukrainian church, is one of respect, but also of solidarity with the people of Ukraine against this aggression.
 
JOURNALIST: I might just ask Dr Reid a question as well. Just in regards to Lucy Wicks, by the end of financial year, she'd like to see up to 20 more GPs in the region. Do you think that's enough?
 
REID: Look, I think that presently, there is not enough GPs here on the coast. And that is partly due to parts of the Central Coast not being classified as a distribution priority area. And at the end of the day, if there's not enough GPs they end up seeing me in the emergency department, they can be waiting 10-plus hours to see a doctor. And a lot of the time that's because they either can't afford to see the GP, or they can't schedule a time because the books are closed, or there's too many patients for those existing GPs to see. On the on the other side of that our GPs, particularly here on the Central Coast, are struggling because there are rising practice costs, there are rising medical indemnity insurance costs. And there are increasing complexities in patient care that need to be taken into account. So, we need to make sure that the Central Coast is really put first in terms of getting more GPs into this area, so that they can manage the chronic conditions of the community so that they don't end up in our emergency departments. That’s not just good for the health care of the community. It's also good economic management, you know, by supporting primary care, it is cheaper than having someone present to the emergency department and then go on to be admitted into our into our hospitals.
 
JOURNALIST: So what targets would you want to see hit in terms of the numbers of GPs coming into the region?
 
REID: We need to attract and retain as many GPs to the area as we as we can. And part of that is by making the entire Central Coast region classified a distribution priority area. And it's not only just that, it's also talking with GPs across the Central Coast and across the electorate, all the way from Mangrove Mountain to Spencer, here in Kincumber, down low – Mooney Mooney, Hawkesbury, all the way up into the into the Terrigal area. We need to be listening to the GPs and seeing what they're saying here on the ground.
 
JOURNALIST: And Dr Charlton, just finally, with masks and another vaccine coming into the region, do you think that the Central Coast should start to feel a bit more easy about the virus around the community?
 
CHARLTON: No. Unfortunately, the virus is out there. We need to maintain our vigilance, that's for sure. We need to get everybody boosted. If we look overseas, we see that they're even now talking about a fourth vaccine. Certainly, the masks have been shown to be helpful, together with the social distancing. And certainly with the boosters we're not getting people in hospitals in intensive care, so we've done very well in achieving that goal. But the virus is still out there, it can easily spread and if we drop our vigilance, then we'll see it started to spread again, as has been the case in New Zealand and Hong Kong, who are back in lockdown as I understand it. So, it's a complex story. It's nice to be rid of the masks, I'd be the first to admit that as well. But we still need to maintain our vigilance. And if we feel there's a risky area where there's a whole lot of people in a small space, and particularly if there's elderly folk, well, then yes, why not put your mask on and protect yourself and protect others?
 
ALBANESE: Thanks Dr Charlton. I make this point about Government members, including Lucy Wicks, talking about how many more GPs are needed in this area. They've been in government for almost a decade. You know, this government sometimes has members who pretend that it’s nothing to do with them. They're searching for a second decade in office. If they were going to provide solutions, they might have got around to it in their first term, their second term or the third term. It is a triumph of hope over experience to reelect a Government that has presided over these issues and these shortages, which have occurred over the last decade. They have got worse, we need a change of government to make it better. We need Dr. Gordon Reid here as a Member for Robertson in order to make it better. That much is obvious.
 
And if I could make one further comment just about the floods, because they've had an impact here we know including, tragically, a fatality here on the Central Coast. We've seen also six people lose their lives in Queensland. Queensland is really doing it tough. And I spoke with the Minister Mark Ryan yesterday to receive a briefing. I've spoken, as well, to others in the Queensland Government and as Shadow Minister for Emergency Services Murray Watt over the weekend. People need to continue to take action to stay safe. If you see floodwaters, do not drive through them. Do what you can to prepare. It's expected that the really heavy rains will continue to occur down the east coast and in the north coast of New South Wales. This is a time where Australians need to take the advice of the experts, of the emergency services, make sure that you don't take a risk. Because it simply isn't worth it, to save five or 10 minutes or half hour or an hour. Please stay safe. And I do want to take the opportunity to thank, once again, we are seeing Australian heroes. Those people in emergency services, the SES, where a volunteer tragically has lost her life as well, just showing the commitment that Australians make to look after each other. They deserve our respect. And they deserve our thanks. Thank you.
 
 
ENDS