By Belinda Nolan
DUELLING Brimbank councillors have declared a temporary ceasefire, uniting in a campaign to establish a medicare office in the municipality.
Mayor Sam David and Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Foa met with Federal Minister for Human Services Joe Ludwig at Sunshine’s Centrelink office to discuss the matter, after council unanimously passed the resolution at the last ordinary meeting.
They were joined by Federal Member for Maribyrnong, Bill Shorten.
Cnr David said Brimbank was the only Western municipality without a medicare office, with residents forced to travel to either Airport West or Highpoint to access the closest facility.
“We’re just under 200,000 people and I think it’s a must to have this facility in the city, without a doubt.”
Cnr David said council was still circulating a petition amongst residents, but would be speaking with the Minister in the meantime.
“I will let the Minister know what is happening and I will urge him to do something about it in a positive way,” he said.
Mr Shorten said it was important for the community to have access to health services, including medicare.
“Brimbank, in my experience, doesn’t want more than anyone’s got, but it wants at least what everyone else’s getting,” he said.
Mr Shorten said the Minister’s visit was a positive indication the government was committed to improving services to the traditionally safe electorate.
“I think it should be noted that this electorate, in the whole twelve years of the Howard government, did not get federal government’s ministers visiting us. The nearest they got was flying 12,000 feet above the electorate trying to land.”
“At least we’ve now got some ministers who don’t think that Sunshine’s the name of a brand of pineapples,” he said.
Senator Ludwig said medicare decided on the location of its offices based on a range of criteria, including population and proximity of the closest offices but the data could change in a time of population growth.
“If it’s a fast-growing area that’ll be interesting to hear if that’s the case, what the demographics are and how they’ve changed.”
The Senator said the government would be looking into schemes, such as expanding online services, to ensure the community had adequate access to medicare and other health resources.
Mr Shorten said he would be writing to each GP in the city to determine how many were offering electronic medicare service to customers.
“The council…is raising the issue and I’m keen to see anything we can get for the area,” he said.