CHILDREN'S
HOSPICE — CITY OF NEDLANDS
399. Dr K. STRATTON to the Minister for Lands:
I refer to the development of the state's first
children's hospice in the City of Nedlands that will provide palliative
out-of-home respite care and support for Western Australian children. Can the
minister outline to the house how the McGowan Labor government is supporting
this project, including through the provision of land in Swanbourne, and why
all Western Australians should support this important facility?
Mr J.N. CAREY
replied:
I want to thank the local member for her question and also
her support for this incredible community project.
As we know, our government has facilitated, through the
Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, an A-class, A-grade process to make
a portion of the reserve available for a hospice. All of us know the importance
of this hospice to Western Australians. This will be a seven-bed facility that
is designed to provide children with a safe, home-like environment where they
can be cared for at end of life. This will help children and families during
the most difficult time for that family's journey. There is an obvious
and clear public interest for Western Australians. It is because of this, and
given consideration of planning approvals, that the City of Nedlands staff
recommended that the city support the
development of the hospice, subject to usual planning conditions, in an agenda
dated 14 June. It is going through an essential planning process.
I want to put this on the
public record. It deeply saddens me to see the commentary by some City of
Nedlands elected officials regarding
this hospice. In fact, I would say it is publicly shameful. I will refer to
some of the quotes. ''I know it's going to be a white
elephant'' is a quote by one of the counsellors. Another said that it
will become the ''coastal arm of Perth Children's Hospital''.
One counsellor bemoaned the fact that the hospice could include office space
with fantastic views. I want to be very clear that the commentary contradicts
the clear advice from the Child and Adolescent Health Service that said one
desk is allocated for administrative support. The majority of the office space
in the hospice is for palliative care clinical staff who will provide the care
and support for children and their families,
yet these counsellors are making incredible criticisms and frivolous planning
considerations that I suspect are an
attempt ultimately to oppose this development. In fact, they have also raised
other issues like bushfire risk and local traffic.
I wish this were the first time we had seen this kind of sad
behaviour by this council, but it is not. The council also recently voted
against displaying a house that was designed specifically by a husband and
wife, Prestige Home, for their autistic child. They wanted to display it for
two months so that other families could view it—another good purpose, I would argue. The mayor at the time who
argued against it said, Dalkeith ''is or used to be one of the most
prestigious areas in Australia'' and she did not want ''to create
the Truman Show for Dalkeith''. Local government has a responsibility.
It takes a choice about the type of leadership it wants to provide for its
community, and it has two choices. The first
choice, which Nedlands appears to adopt, is to prey on people's worst
fears, to push nimbyism, even when it is about important issues like a hospice.
The alternative is great leadership, which we do see from some local
governments. If there are concerns or challenges, they work through them with
their local community, but, ultimately, they work to the best interest, the
public interest.
In this case, local government should absolutely be
supporting a hospice that will provide families, at their most critical time,
with that important service to get through this very difficult journey. I want
to assure the people of Western Australia that our state government is
supportive of that hospice, and I am deeply proud that we have been able to
facilitate the project by providing that land.