PRESS CONFERENCE SYDNEY FRIDAY, 4 APRIL 2025

MICHELLE ROWLAND, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: Good morning. I'm delighted to be here in Rouse Hill today, joined by my most excellent colleague, the Minister for Health, Mark Butler, the State Minister for Western Sydney, and Deputy Premier, Prue Car, the State Health Minister, Ryan Park, Warren Kirby, the Member for Riverstone, and also a number of little constituents who I know will benefit from a number of announcements that are being made today about the future of Western Sydney and developments in North West Sydney. This part of North West Sydney is one of the fastest growing in New South Wales, if not all Australia. There will be some 300,000 new residents moving into this area over the foreseeable future, adding to the already large population that continues to grow. These residents deserve the best quality healthcare, and that is what the Albanese Government is going to deliver, including in conjunction with the Minns Government of New South Wales. I am pleased to announce that today we have $120 million that has been funded to go into providing maternity services at Rouse Hill Hospital, which is being constructed by the New South Wales Government. It was alarming to find out in the last term of Parliament that the Rouse Hill Hospital was slated to not even have an emergency department included in it, and again, to the surprise of so many local residents to find out that maternity, full maternity services had not been included in that either. As I go around and listen to local residents, including those here today, we know how important it is for a growing suburb to have the infrastructure that they need, from schools to transport funding, it means that the hospital will be able to open with the maternity services it deserves. I look forward to working with the New South Wales Government to bring this to a reality. But more importantly, I would like to thank the New South Wales Labor Government for demonstrating the initiative to collaborate with their federal colleagues to make sure that the people of North West Sydney get the infrastructure that they deserve. I'll hand over to Minister Mark Butler.

MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: Thanks, Michelle. It's so good to be out here with Michelle, a great colleague, a great supporter of our Strengthening Medicare initiatives. There's so much that we're doing in this part of North West Sydney. A lot of it, we're really reflecting the advocacy of Michelle. We've just talked about the endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic we've funded here in North West Sydney, in this very building, delivering huge support to teenage girls and women dealing with endometriosis and pelvic pain, highly specialised care that, frankly has been too long coming. We've also made a commitment to a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Rouse Hill to deliver high quality urgent care, fully bulk billed to people in this community when and where they need it, but also to take pressure off the emergency departments at local hospitals. But I'm particularly excited about this announcement, something we've developed in partnership with my friend and colleague, Ryan Park, but also again reflecting the advocacy of Michelle Rowland about high quality healthcare services in this community. It's pretty astounding to me, as the Health Minister, to read that this had been a promise sitting on the books of the former State Liberal government for years and years, election after election, never actually delivered. The promise made more than a decade ago by that former Liberal government, still with the same amount of funding of $300 million that we know was never going to be able to build a quality hospital service here in the north west of Sydney, and that's why congratulate the Minns Labor Government and Ryan Park in particular, for lifting that commitment to $700 million and then talking to our government about how we can partner to make sure it has the fullest range of services possible for this fast growing community in North West Sydney. Michelle told me that there's predicted to be about 2,200 births in this community over the next decade, and that clearly needs its own maternity service. It's just going to provide far too much pressure on hospitals like Westmead or Blacktown, let alone the sorts of stories that Mikayla has talked to me about in terms of just the stress and the anxiety caused by the distance [INDISTINCT] from this community for mums who are about to give birth. That's why I'm really delighted we've been able to provide a commitment one of about $120 million that will provide a maternity service, not just with antenatal and postnatal, which is what the former government committed to, but a maternity service that allows birthing to take place at the Rouse Hill Hospital; 8 birthing units, 18 inpatient beds in a maternity service, which will ensure that this growing community for decades to come will know that it will be able to have birthing services here in their own community. Again, this is just a great example of the reliable partnership that we have between our two levels of government. Last year, we provided $200 million reflecting particularly the leading advocacy of Ryan Park about the need for us to find ways to move older patients through the hospital system more smoothly and more quickly. Ryan really has led that advocacy across the country over the last couple of years. I know it's a pressure in the New South Wales hospital system, as it is in many others, and we committed that extra funding to find new ways to ensure that passage through the hospital systems happen more smoothly and more quickly. I'm also delighted that in the next financial year, the Commonwealth's contribution to the New South Wales hospital system will increase by almost a billion dollars, by $985 million on top of what they've got this year, an 11 per cent increase in hospital funding from the Commonwealth, reflecting our understanding of the pressures that all hospital systems are under. Wage pressures, volume pressures. We want to do everything we can to support the hard work of doctors, nurses and other hospital workers in this state to deliver high quality public hospital services in this terrific state of New South Wales. And the contrast between the way in which we are working together as two governments, the support for the public hospital system you're getting from the Albanese Government, and what Peter Dutton did as Health Minister [INDISTINCT]. When he was Health Minister after promising Australian people there would be no health cuts. He then tried to get $50 billion out of the hospital system across Australia. That would have meant an $18 billion cut to the New South Wales hospital system, had he been able to get away with and that's before he got to try and make people pay a fee every time they walk into an emergency department. Abolishing bulk billing, jacking up the price of medicine. That's why this election is so critically important to Medicare. We've got a government at the moment committed to strengthening Medicare, working in partnership with state governments and health ministers to support the public hospital system. On the other hand, you've got a person vying to be Prime Minister who was voted by Australia's doctors as the worst Health Minister in the history of Medicare. This is a really exciting announcement that's going to set this community up for the future, for a really strong future where the families in this community can rely upon high quality healthcare services as they should.

PRUE CAR, DEPUTY PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES: Thanks Minister Butler. I just want to say a few words, not many, because I just want to say, without embarrassing Mikayla I will say, hats off to you; juggling a toddler at the best of times is hard enough, let alone, at a press conference, so well done. These are the sounds of North Western Sydney, though I have to say. Of babies chatting and learning how to speak and running around and being joyful. I just want to say a few words about what this means for our communities in Western Sydney. Michelle, myself and Warren Kirby, we represent parts of North West Sydney that to say we are booming is a great understatement. There are thousands of babies being born every year, and there are going to be a lot of grateful and relieved people in the community today when they hear that the Albanese Labor Government, and the Minns Labor Government have worked together to ensure that this new hospital at Rouse Hill will have full maternity services, including full birthing services, because we're all having a lot of babies and we want to be able to have them close to home, like other people in other communities have the privilege of being able to do. How excellent is it that we actually have two levels of government working together to build the infrastructure that places like North West Sydney need. In North West Sydney, the last 10 years before we both came to government, was neglected when it came to the investment in infrastructure, when it came to the investment in schools, when it came to the investment in road infrastructure, the same thing. And when it comes to Rouse Hill Hospital, the Liberals and Nationals in New South Wales promised it three times and did not build one single thing. The difference could not be more stark. Two Labor governments working together, are not just building this hospital. We're building this hospital with full maternity services and an emergency department, because the difference is we listen to communities about what they need. I'll just finish on a few things about the listening to these communities that has happened in this case. You couldn't get a more active member in North West Sydney than Michelle Rowland. She has actually met these beautiful young mums through the campaign to get these maternity services here at Rouse Hill. That's the true work of a local member. Literally knocking on doors. Meeting people about what they need in their community. Convincing ministers to front up with the money, to be able to deliver for this growing community. And that's why it is a complete no-brainer for this community to re-elect Michelle Rowland and an Albanese Labor Government, because what they're going to get, in concert with the Minns Labor Government, and through the advocacy of our Health Minister Ryan Park, is that they will get a full hospital at Rouse Hill, finally, after all these years with an emergency department and full maternity services, and that would not have happened without Michelle Rowland.

RYAN PARK, NEW SOUTH WALES MINISTER FOR HEALTH: Thank you, Deputy Premier. Can I just begin by thanking Michelle, Prue and Warren. People of North West Sydney are incredibly lucky, incredibly lucky to have three individuals who care deeply about the communities they love and care deeply about the communities they represent. Both Warren and Prue would not let a week go by without talking to me about Rouse Hill Hospital and what it needs to have, and what a future Rouse Hill Hospital needs to have to cater for their growing communities. We’ve got a Deputy Premier, who's also the Minister for Education, got a massive portfolio. Got huge challenges that she's dealing with, but all the time, would speak to me about the importance of delivering better health care for the communities that she serves in this part of North West Sydney. And of course, Warren Kirby, who, as the Deputy Premier said, has gone above and beyond to advocate, knock on anyone's doors, including the Premier's doors, about the importance of this project, and to Michelle, the support, the advocacy and the way in which you've gone and fought for your community is a real testament. To Minister Butler, can I say? And I've said this both privately and publicly, I've had the privilege of being a health minister to work alongside Minister Butler, for the last two years This country is better off because of Minister Butler and his efforts and his investment. He's gone above and beyond to reach out to ministers like me to try and identify the challenges and pressures we are facing and then go into his Cabinet and advocate and push to try and help resolve some of those. I want to put on the record that his efforts over the last two years, whilst I've been a minister, has ensured that our health system across this country, including in New South Wales, has been enhanced. And in a month or so’s time, I really hope that people, when they go to that ballot box, there's a clear choice in relation to healthcare in this country. They can invest and lean into a government who wants to strengthen Medicare, enhance bulk billing, wants to be able to deliver important projects like this for parts of growing Western Sydney. Or they can go back to a system where bulk building rates are dropped, fees are increased, and the community is getting less and less health services than they need and deserve. I know which one I'll be supporting, but I want to put on the record my personal appreciation for the efforts of Minister Butler over the last two years, but the incredible advocacy of my cabinet colleague, the Deputy Premier, Prue Car obviously, Michelle Rowland at a federal level, and the fantastic and highly energetic Warren Kirby, the Member for Riverstone. I just want to say a few things on the doctor’s strike action. I want to make this very, very clear; This is strike action that should not be taking place in New South Wales. The working men and women through the union movement asked Labor to reinstate the independent Industrial Relations Commissioner, the independent umpire. If you want an independent umpire, you've got to follow by the rules. The Minns Labor Government, through the Premier, Treasurer and myself, have said very clearly, we will abide by the decisions of that independent umpire. I asked doctors to do the same. I made it clear to doctors over the last 48 hours, that we are prepared to go back to the table and enter into those intensive negotiations. We are prepared to pay that 3 per cent, have it back paid to get money in doctor’s pockets as quickly as possible. But to do that, they have to call off this action. And I want to make this very, very clear, this will put patients at risk, because we know elective surgery will need to be cancelled. We've got a choice here, whether follow by the rules of the independent umpire, which is what the Minns Labor Government has said we will do, and any decision that independent umpire makes, or we don't. Now, given that the working men and women through the trade union movement asked us to set up this umpire, asked us to establish this industrial relations commission. I asked doctors, through the union ASMOF, to reconsider the action for next week. What needs to happen [not clear] is not required. The government stands right now, willing to go back into a period of intense negotiations and discussions. We're prepared to pay that 3 per cent immediately and have it back paid immediately. We're prepared to have money in doctors’ pockets as quickly as possible. But they too, have to come to the table, and in coming to the table, we need to see that strike and industrial action proposed for three days next week called off. It's not good for patients, it's not good for doctors, and certainly not good for our health system. We stand ready to enter into those negotiations. We will do that in good faith. We will do that transparently, and we will do that for as long as it takes. But we all have to abide by the independent umpire. Of course, we've said that we will, through the Premier and the Treasurer and myself; I ask that doctors, through their union, do the same.

MIKAYLA STREETER, LOCAL MUM: This is an amazing announcement today which is going to make a difference for a lot of mums in this community and surrounding areas. Riley was born at Westmead public which was a fair bit of a drive from where we live in Box Hill. It was about a 45-minute drive for us, and I was very close to delivering on that drive. I was very lucky. I went into labour at 4am, if it was the morning or afternoon peak, I would have been delivering on Windsor Road. He came very quickly, and it was just too far to go. So having full maternity services in Rouse Hill Hospital will just make a great difference for all the mums in this area. Parents want to get to the hospital safely and hopefully not delivering on the side of the road, and it's a great outcome for our community.

JOURNALIST: Michelle, just a few days ago, there was an article saying that you were lobbying the state government to cough up the cash with your petition. When was this deal struck?
 
ROWLAND: We've been having talks for some time, ever since we became aware that this was certainly an issue. Box Hill as a suburb came into the electorate of Greenway late last year, and as I went around, door knocked, listened to people, put out surveys, this was coming up, at the top of that list. For some time, I've been speaking to my colleague, Mark Butler, seeing what we could do to make this happen. I'm very pleased that we've managed to collaborate with this. We've managed to come to an announcement today. But certainly this is something that we have been looking at for some time. Worked it up well, actually budgeted for it, but it did take, of course, the state government to the party as well. And very grateful for Minister Park for doing that.
 
JOURNALIST: Just to confirm, is it, what's the split? Is it $120 million fully federal funding, or its fair share? And will it pay for the entire unit?
 
ROWLAND: We've got $120 million federally funded, but the New South Wales Government will determine what further may be required and put that in future budgets. That's what we agreed to.
 
JOURNALIST: The additional staffing areas are included in the investment. Just a question, though, with the shortages of midwives already, how do you plan to make sure that those are adequately staffed?
 
ROWLAND: Well, of course, that's something that will need to be managed at a state level, and I know that Minister Park will attend to that.
 
JOURNALIST:  Do you have an idea yet, Minister on how much more will be needed to fulfil what's promised here at this new maternity unit?
 
PARK: No, but we’ll work through that in this upcoming budget, and we’ll work through it in the next couple of budgets. We want to start this hospital early next year. We cannot start this fast enough. We want to make sure that there are no more planning impediments in place. This was first announced to this community back in 2015. They have waited long enough, the people of North West Sydney, they deserve a hospital that meets their needs. That's why we put in an additional $400 million that's why we decided, ironically, to build a hospital, who would have thought, with an emergency department. That's why now we've decided to partner with the Commonwealth Government to make sure the people of North West Sydney, in this growing community, get access to full birthing services. We obviously fund the resourcing of the hospital through the staffing, we'll continue to do that. The challenge around midwives, which I think you raised, is a challenge not just in this state, not just in this country, to be frank, it's a global challenge. Anyone who's been following health care and the provision of health care, workforce planning, like I have and like Minister Butler has over the last few years, shows that that's been the case for probably five years, exacerbated by COVID, but that is a real challenge. But we'll make sure we have this fully staffed, and we'll make sure that the $120 million and anything else that is needed to deliver birthing services here at Rouse Hill gets delivered.
 
JOURNALIST: On the doctor's strike, I just wanted to ask, why is New South Wales Health sending letters to doctors threatening to report them to the Australian health practitioner’s regulation?
 
PARK: We've got to run a health care system, and I'm responsible and accountable for managing one of the largest health care systems in the world, certainly the largest in this country. I've got to be very transparent, as we were with nurses and midwives when they took industrial action, as we were some years ago when paramedics took industrial action, about what is the requirements and what is the obligations of those registered clinicians. Now this morning, I note that both the AMA, but certainly some of the significant and large insurers, have said to doctors straight away that they need to be careful taking this type of action. That is a matter for doctors to choose what action they take, and I'll leave that up to them. What I'm asking the union is to call this action off, because we are, as a government, prepared to go back to the table, prepared to go back to the negotiation table. Have that intensive discussion and consultation and negotiation over the coming weeks. At the same time as a show of good faith, provide that 3 per cent straight away up front. As a sign of good faith, have it back paid so money goes in the pockets of doctors as early as this week. Now, to do that, we need them back at the table. And to do that, we need this industrial action called off. We haven't seen industrial action like this in 35 years, and as I explained to the ASMOF, the doctor’s union the other day, it seems a little bit odd that for 12 years, there was no negotiation about wages. We had wage suppression under a cap in this State, yet there was no industrial action of this kind. Yet, within two years, we've dramatically increased the wages of front-line health care workers, and we are seeing potentially a 3-day strike that will impact on patients, their families, other workers, other healthcare professionals and hospitals across New South Wales.
 
JOURNALIST: Will they formally reject the 3 per cent offer and indicate to you that they will proceed?
 
PARK: Well, look at this stage, all intention seems as though they are going to proceed. We are this morning in the Industrial Relations Commission, pretty well as we speak. I'll wait to get a briefing coming out of that. But we are asking, we are saying that it is not too late for ASMOF and the doctors to call this action off. And I say that because we are willing to commence those negotiations, we were prepared to take the most senior health care officials offline for a number of weeks to begin those discussions in an intensive way. So not just as a part of the 15 meetings that we've already had. An intense sit down over a couple of week period to see if we can get this issue resolved. As a sign of good faith from the government, we are prepared to pay, those doctors 3 per cent, have it back paid to make sure that they can get money in their pocket immediately. I think what the community expect of me as the Minister, is to make sure that I remain at the table and try and work this through the New South Wales Health officials. I'll make sure that these New South Wales officials do that. I'm asking ASMOF to do the same, and I think that's what the community expect.
 
JOURNALIST: If there is, if this industrial action goes ahead, how many surgeries do you expect will be cancelled?
 
PARK: It will be in the tune of hundreds. You would know that during the nurse’s industrial action, many hundreds of surgeries were cancelled. The government invested $200 million to try and catch up those surgeries, because we know how important elective and essential surgeries are to our community. I don't want patients to wait. I don't want them to be waiting. I don't want them to be getting a phone call over the next few days to say that important surgery you're having is now cancelled. I don't think that's acceptable when you've got a government willing to go back to the table. I don't think that's acceptable when the independent umpire has said that they shouldn't be doing this, and I don't think it's acceptable when you've got a government who's prepared to put money in doctor's pockets now, have it back paid while we enter into that two week or so industrial relations negotiations and consultations.
 
JOURNALIST: On the Drug Summit report, I just wanted to ask, will you scrap sniffer dogs and stricter searches at music festivals, as recommended by the report?
 
PARK: Well, can I start off by thanking the enormous contribution that John Brogden and Carmel Tebbutt have made to this landmark report. This is a report that has been a long time coming, and I know that people from right across the sector engaged in that 4-day process intensively. I went to every session. I was there for four days, both in the regional locations and in the city, and we learned a lot and this report reflects that. The report has a number of priority areas, and I'm not going to make announcements about that now, other than to say that we are committed as a government to respond as soon as possible. If we can make some early decisions quickly, we will do so. Many of these decisions, including that one, respectfully, is a matter for New South Wales Police, and is a matter for my Cabinet colleagues. I'm not going to foreshadow what we will or don't agree. What I can say is that this was an important process, a process that we are committed to, a process that we implemented, a process that we have started with the drug checking trial in place the first time we had one of those in New South Wales. We are committed to doing what we can to make sure we improve health services that treat people with drug addiction and drug issues in the kindest way possible, while making sure that we crack down on those supplying these substances to many people across the community, including many young people.
 
JOURNALIST:  Will you legislate a legal defence for drivers who use medicinal cannabis, who test positive behind the wheel?
 
PARK: We're in the process now of having received the report, of commencing those discussions with my colleagues and with their respective agencies and including that particular priority area. We will do exactly that with my colleagues as the Minister for Roads and the Minister for Transport, we will commence those discussions. I know it is an issue that many people across the community think that we should look at, and we will do so, but I'm not going to pre-empt what those decisions are. That's not appropriate for me. Less than 24 hours after I've received the report, other than to say, I want to thank everyone involved in the summit, I want to thank those who spoke, particularly those with lived and living experience. To stand there and to present to a large group of people when you have had your own battles is something that is not lost on me and is something that was truly touching, and I took away and learned a lot. I also had an opportunity to speak to parents who have young people who have lost their lives because of drug use and misuse. These are issues that impact families. They're issues that impact communities. And because of that, and because of the work of people at the summit, I want to give the respect to the report that it deserves, and that is to carefully consider these priority actions. I'll do it in a transparent way. I'll do it with my colleagues. I'll do it through the Cabinet process and coming out of that will be decisions that we take or not take, and we'll make sure the community is aware of that and why we've chosen that.
 
JOURNALIST: The last drug summit in 1999 went to the King's Cross injecting rooms, which was pretty monumental. What will be the legacy of this drug summit?
 
PARK: I think we've already started on that process. I'm really proud that under this government, we've commenced the first drug checking trial. We did that at the Yours and Owls festival in Wollongong recently. I think that's a remarkable piece of reform. If I think about whether that would have been on the table 5, 10, 15 years ago, that would mean a very, very difficult for decision for legislators to take, and it was a difficult decision for this government to take. Comes with it all of the challenges that as legislators we have to face, but honestly, all the challenges that we're dealing with as parents each and every day, particularly those of us who are parenting or trying our best to parent teenagers, and this is a significant reform. I know that there will be more reforms. I'm not in a position yet to say what they are, because I want to have those discussions with my colleagues, but we're committed to move the dial in relation to drug reform in New South Wales. We're committed to making sure that we provide the very best health services for those who need that support, whilst at the same time not apologising, not apologising in any way, shape or form, for coming down hard on those who supply these drugs that cause untold damage to individuals, their families and communities across New South Wales.