Tuesday, 28 November 2023

Better Health Network, Parkdale

Tim RICHARDSON (Mordialloc) (19:16): (468) My adjournment this evening is to the Minister for Health Infrastructure and Minister for Health, and the action I seek is for the minister to join me at the Central Bayside Community Health Services site, which is now the Better Health Network, in Parkdale to officially open the new building upgrades as part of the Metropolitan Health Infrastructure Fund investment. Central Bayside Community Health has for more than 30 years supported our local community. It started in humble beginnings in a converted church out the back of Mentone and is now a service that provides support for our community in their tens of thousands.

I want to acknowledge some of the people that have contributed to that story. The former member for Mentone and Heatherton Peter Spyker, who was a former minister in this place, and his family have done an extraordinary amount of work for Central Bayside Community Health. Another person well known to this chamber, Janice Munt, a former Parliamentary Secretary for Health and member for Mordialloc, who is a wonderful community representative, is now the chair of Better Health Network, which came together when Central Bayside Community Health, Star and Connect merged together to make sure that they could support so many more in our community and really bring together their expertise. The metropolitan health fund’s journey started before that merger but has continued under the Better Health Network’s leadership.

It was former minister Martin Foley who joined me to make that announcement with our federal member Mark Dreyfus at the time – a $2.7 million investment that would provide new multi-use rooms, better waiting areas and telehealth-enabled rooms and, importantly, a patient therapy and wellbeing space to make sure people could access that critical support they need. There are GP services, support for our communities – our disability communities as well – and dental as well as a critical frame. One of the first things I did as a member for Parliament was with former Minister for Health Jill Hennessy, where we gave over investment for eight dental chairs. Public dental health is so critical. Those are just some of the things that Central Bayside is known for and has done for so long.

I had the opportunity to host Minister Thomas, the Minister for Health and Minister for Health Infrastructure, recently during progress upgrades and works and to check out the progress with the CEO of Better Health Network Damian Ferrie, who does an extraordinary job leading Better Health Network. Catching up with them recently to hear their plans around mental health and wellbeing and investment in our community was really inspiring. They are doing some really state-leading if not nation-leading work, and now those works are concluded, the benefit that this will provide to the City of Kingston region will be outstanding. So I am really looking forward to having the minister there to join Damian Ferrie, the CEO, and the chair Janice Munt to celebrate another milestone in Central Bayside and now Better Health Network’s storied past and really exciting future.