Mr STUART AYRES (Penrith) [4.31 p.m.]: It gives me great pleasure to speak about the petition of more than 10,000 persons relating to car parking facilities at Nepean Hospital. Not long after I was elected it became very clear that car parking at Nepean Hospital had reached crisis point. Even prior to then it was well known across the Penrith electorate and further afield that car parking at Nepean Hospital was in a state of crisis. That had come about as a result of a series of decisions over a long time. Those decisions, which were not inappropriate, were made to ensure that funding that was invested in Nepean Hospital went to appropriate medical and health facilities. However, it is clear that the ability of people to use a car park to access those facilities had fallen off the radar and been somewhat neglected. It was with great pleasure prior to the election that I was able to stand beside the now Minister for Health, Jillian Skinner, and commit to the construction of a multistorey car park at Nepean Hospital.

The car park has been approved only in the past two weeks by Penrith City Council and the Joint Regional Planning Panel. We are now able to commence work on the tender options, which will lead to construction. We are now looking at a clear time line for delivery of this project. The tender arrangements will be completed, initial construction should take place by the middle of the year and major construction should begin by September. This will be a major piece of infrastructure to support the long-term investment from both sides of politics and the State and Federal tiers of government in the Nepean Hospital precinct. It will also form a critical part of the extension of health services throughout a growing economic corridor in the Penrith region.

There is little doubt that the opportunity to create jobs in the health sector is critically important to the long-term development and prosperity of the Penrith region. However, it is just as important that people are able to access those services. I recognise the work that the Penrith community has put into raising the profile of this issue. There is little doubt that whether someone is a representative on the senior medical staff council, a member of the NSW Nurses Association or a member of a family that has had to access some of the services at Nepean Hospital they would have experienced the difficulty of finding a car parking space. That will come to an end because the O'Farrell Government is meeting its election commitment. The O'Farrell Government is keeping its promise to improve car parking facilities at Nepean Hospital.

A multistorey car park will be constructed on the corner of Derby and Somerset Streets in the hospital precinct. It will have approximately 650 spaces and is a multimillion-dollar investment in this precinct that will support the multiple millions of dollars that have already been invested there. It will provide an anchor point for future car parking. That is one of the things that I am most happy about in this process. In addition to finding an interim solution to the long-term issue of car parking at Nepean Hospital with the support of Penrith City Council through the establishment of an overflow car park with 100 spaces, Health Infrastructure has been working to establish a master plan for the hospital precinct. That plan earmarks sites for future car parks.

It has been identified that car parking will continue to be a challenge for any hospital precinct, especially one as important as Nepean. It services the two million people who live in western Sydney and others in many parts of regional New South Wales. Nepean Hospital is the most westerly teaching hospital. If people are living in Bathurst or Orange there is a strong likelihood that if they need to access services in this precinct they will need to drive their car there. The new multistorey car park will make it significantly easier for people to access the hospital's facilities. This development is a clear example of the O'Farrell Government meeting its election commitments. It is a multimillion-dollar investment in the Penrith region. It is a clear response to the demands of the people of Penrith. And this car park will be built.

Dr ANDREW McDONALD (Macquarie Fields) [4.36 p.m.]: I note the obvious pride of the member for Penrith in his local hospital. He has good reason to be proud of Nepean Hospital because it is an excellent hospital and one of the flagship teaching hospitals of the University of Sydney. It is well administered and its staff are distinguished by their commitment not only to first-rate patient care, which they provide, but also to the people with whom they share their lives. I was the regional examiner for the College of Physicians exam at Nepean for some years and I spent a lot of time at Nepean Hospital speaking to clinicians and to patients, because these exams take days not hours, and I have always been impressed by the high standard of care and the outstanding commitment of the clinicians there.

I am unclear about why a petition of more than 10,000 persons is needed to tick off an election promise: that could be done with the stroke of a ministerial pen. This is probably something to do with the creation of a database for future use and also to hide some of the facts of this development. Fourteen months after the election the development application has only just been lodged. This much-needed car park will be built but it will take some years. There is also no mention that the parking will be privatised, which will mean that patients will be paying for parking in the future. This will be a private enterprise development on the hospital site. It is very difficult to get financial recompense for those who are unable to pay full parking because it comes out of the hospital budget. It is given only rarely because many people do not even know to ask about it.

This will be a major cost for the community, which could have been explained to people when they signed the petition. They could have been told that they would be paying for parking forever. However, as I said, the Nepean Hospital is a very good hospital. I note that the member for Penrith paid tribute to governments of both persuasions and at both levels. The member clearly forgot the line that Government members are to expunge all achievements of any other government than this one from history. The fact is that there has been considerable investment in Nepean Hospital for some years; that investment is ongoing, much of it from the Federal Government. However, between 2006 and 2007 a considerable sum of money was spent on a medical assessment unit and a psychiatric emergency care centre.

Recently I saw the refurbishment of wards in north block and the very impressive commencement of construction of wards in east block—a major, and much-needed, redevelopment of the hospital, paid for in the main by gratefully received Federal Government funds. This will enhance the ability of the hospital to care for the community, as it needs to do not only because of the rapidly increasing population but also because this is a major teaching unit. It trains many of our future clinicians in western Sydney. I pay special tribute to Professor Michael Peek, Dean of the Medical School at Nepean Hospital. One would have to go a long way to find a more committed clinician and better role model for future clinicians of western Sydney.

This Government treats facts about Nepean Hospital like State secrets. For example, nurses number nearly 1,200 and medical staff about 350. Questions about Nepean Hospital such as how many staff it now has, what its budget is, and how many admissions it now has, are not answered by the Government. It refuses to answer questions on things such as how many nurses are employed, how many nursing vacancies there are, or even what the hospital's budget is. The walk-out rate from the emergency department in July last was 11 per cent. This is a great hospital. It does enormous good for the community, and I commend its good work.

Mr BART BASSETT (Londonderry) [4.41 p.m.]: It gives me great pleasure to speak to the 10,000 petition on car parking for Nepean Hospital. As the member for Macquarie Fields mentioned, Nepean Hospital is a well regarded teaching hospital. This is a great hospital, one of the network of teaching hospitals in Sydney and throughout New South Wales. However, the member failed to mention that the site of the car park has existed for decades; so the previous Government could quite easily have fixed the parking problems at Nepean Hospital. But that Government had no plans. It is true to say that money for the car park is coming from both the Federal and State governments; the member for Penrith acknowledged that. That is how hospitals are funded. This Government is getting on with the job of delivering on its election commitments.

We are building what the people in the community want—and that includes the people of Londonderry, Blue Mountains, Riverstone, Bathurst and Orange. Why is that? It is because Nepean Hospital is a receiving hospital for a lot of New South Wales. I think the member for Macquarie Fields would support me in saying that people are flown from throughout New South Wales to these teaching hospitals; people from all over the State come to see their critically ill friends and family members who are in these hospitals. People are being flown from Lithgow hospital to the Nepean Hospital, as they are from Bathurst and Orange. Those families have to find accommodation in Sydney when they do not know the area and do not know where to park. Has anyone from the Opposition gone out to this area in recent times? I am sure the member for Liverpool would not even know where Nepean is.

Mr Paul Lynch: That just shows how much of a fool you are.

Mr BART BASSETT: It does not take much to rev him up. The only time he would have been out there is when he was in a chauffeur-driven car and been dropped off.

Mr Paul Lynch: Point of order: I was peacefully minding my own business when this entirely unprovoked attack happened.

ACTING-SPEAKER (Mr John Barilaro): Order! What is the member's point of order?

Mr Paul Lynch: That this bloke's a dill, number one.

ACTING-SPEAKER (Mr John Barilaro): Order! That is not a point of order. The member will resume his seat.

Mr Paul Lynch: You should tell him that if he wants to launch an attack—

ACTING-SPEAKER (Mr John Barilaro): Order! There is no point of order. The member will resume his seat.

Mr BART BASSETT: The member's reaction shows he is very upset about what I have said.

Mr Paul Lynch: Point of order: Once again the member continues in that vein.

ACTING-SPEAKER (Mr John Barilaro): Order! What is the member's point of order?

Mr Paul Lynch: It is under Standing Order 73. If the member wants to launch an attack, he must do so by way of substantive motion.

ACTING-SPEAKER (Mr John Barilaro): Order! There is no point of order. The member will resume his seat.

Mr Paul Lynch: I was minding my own business, and he just started an attack on me.

ACTING-SPEAKER (Mr John Barilaro): Order! I will expel members who continue to be disorderly.

Mr BART BASSETT: I congratulate the O'Farrell Government for the commitment made at the election and for getting on with building the car park. The community is happy.

Discussion concluded.