Ms ROXON (9:40 AM) —It has been nearly four years since the release of the government's Blandford report into MRI services. Despite the very high public health needs and relatively low income in my local area, there is still no access to local bulk-billing magnetic resonance imaging services in the entire western metropolitan region. By comparison, there are 13 bulk-billing MRIs in central Melbourne and the eastern suburbs. To access a local MRI service, patients must pay out of their own pockets, and this can cost $200 for a single procedure. Indicators of public health and income in the area show that the need for a publicly funded MRI service is clear. According to analysis that has been done by Western Health, the primary local hospital services over half a million people, in 1,335 square kilometres, to be precise. The population in the west is predicted to increase by 100,000 over the next five years. So the need for us to have this service is increasing.

The population of those aged over 70 is predicted to increase by 11 per cent by 2011 compared with an increase in the Melbourne metropolitan area of only seven per cent. It is important for members to know that the life expectancy in this catchment area, which includes my electorate, is lower than the Victorian average. There are higher than average rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease and infectious disease. The Maribyrnong local government area, which is entirely included within my electorate, has the highest rate of cardiovascular disease in all of Victoria. The local rate of diabetes is significantly higher than the Victorian average for men and women. In parts of my electorate, men suffer from chronic respiratory disease at a higher rate than the Victorian population at large. Parts of Western Health's catchment area also include areas of very low income, where payment up front for MRI procedures is something people simply cannot afford.

It is extremely important that the government consider making an eligible MRI available in the area. It is a serious problem that links to our general health issues and the declining bulk-billing rates. But to have not a single rebatable MRI machine in such a large section of Melbourne which has the highest need is simply unsustainable and unfair. This situation must be addressed immediately. An MRI machine that people can afford to use is now becoming a central part of many treatment processes in the medical profession. I went through the different rates of cancer and cardiovascular disease in my electorate. Many of the symptoms that people will suffer and the diseases that people will need to have treated do rely on MRI services to be detected early and treated properly. The history and health concerns of my electorate relate to an ageing population who worked in very heavy industrial areas. It is important that they are able to access local services that can be covered by Medicare and that they are not faced with a $200 up-front fee or with simply not having a choice to get this service because they cannot afford it. I urge the chamber and the government to address this situation immediately and to provide a rebatable machine in the western suburbs of Melbourne. (Time expired)