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Today’s announcement that Stanhope Labor will fund part of the set-up costs for the West Belconnen Health Co-operative was welcomed today by Roger Nicoll, recently the Co-op Board Chair and now the Community Alliance Party Candidate for Ginninderra. "I am ecstatic that, after four years of community development, feasibility testing and lobbying for funding, that the government has announced some infrastructure funding for this innovative community health initiative," Mr Nicoll said.
Roger Nicoll has headed the Co-operative and its predecessor, The West Belconnen Community Health Committee as Chairperson over the past four years, standing aside only three weeks ago to run as a candidate for Ginninderra with the Community Alliance Party. "After my personal commitment to and investment in this project, I have to say that I was very disappointed not to be invited to today’s funding announcement," said Mr Nicoll. Some months before Mr Nicoll joined the Community Alliance Party, the Alliance released its policy to fully fund the set-up costs of the Co-operative’s innovative health and wellbeing centre. "It has taken fear of losing an election and the rise of the Community Alliance for Labor to come to the table with a promise of money. It shows that the Alliance is already an effective cross-bench in action," he said. "The good news is that, no matter who forms government after the October election, the Cooperative will be fully funded and up and running next year," he said. "I hope this is an election promise that Labor intends to keep." Despite a positive feasibility study, strong community and political support, a funding application in 2006 was rejected by the Labor Government and then again in early 2008 with Labor’s scrapping of the Federal Regional Partnerships Program, despite significant support for the Health Co-op from all sides of politics. "The West Belconnen community has been waiting a long time for local access to bulk-billing doctors and a range of other health and wellbeing services, but now, at last it will be possible," Mr Nicoll said. "It's a real testament to the hard work put in by the local community." Contact: Roger Nicoll |
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