Tony Pasin MP, Naracoorte Community News
On July 25th more than 200 people attended a community forum at the Sir Robert Helpmann organised and hosted by the Radiation Treatment Limestone Coast Working Party.
I was extremely impressed with the event and I wish to commend the Working Party for its organisation.
I also wish to congratulate these same community members for the results they have achieved to date. It is important to note that while we may not have a firm commitment from the State Government, the very fact that the Minister has committed to a feasibility study and has retained the $4.3 million in Federal funding until this matter is resolved is a credit to the hard work of the members of the Working Party. So too is the fact that the State’s alternative Government, the Liberal Opposition has committed to seeing radiation treatment services in the Limestone Coast should they be in a position to form Government in 2026.
Make no mistake, without the 16,000 signatures, the Parliamentary committee, or the media attention the campaign has garnered, the State Government and by extension the Limestone Coast Local Health Network would not have shifted their position from where it stood six months ago.
Without the dedication and passion for the cause shown by this incredible group of locals, the $4.3 million of Federal funding that I secured in 2019 specifically for radiation treatment services would have been spent on consulting suites, a carpark and break rooms at the hospital, and the proposal for radiation treatment in the Limestone Coast would have been dead and buried for another 20 years.
The voices of our community are being heard. Each and every person who has thrown their support behind the Working Party’s campaign whether it be by signing the petition, attending the forum or sharing a story of travelling away from home for radiation treatment, you have all played a part in arguing the case for bringing radiation services to our community.
Thank you and well done to the community volunteers working in this space. All politics is local, and this is grassroots campaigning at its best. Keep going because together we can achieve great things that make a real difference to people’s lives.
This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News.
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