Media Release

INDEPENDENT Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has welcomed more than $17 million in funding for long-awaited capital works at Mount Isa’s dilapidated Laura Johnson Nursing Home after intense lobbying by community stakeholders and his representations on their behalf.

Mr Katter said the Laura Johnson funding from the Commonwealth’s 2009/10 Aged Care Approvals Round formed nearly half of the capital grants outlay for all of Australia.

“This is a great tribute to former and current board chairs Matt O’Neill and Bob Wilson, and facility manager Jan Hills, who have worked tirelessly for this long overdue and desperatelyneeded funding,” said Mr Katter.

He said the parts of the region’s sole aged care facility had been been built in the early 1970s, making it difficult to maintain standards of health and care for an ageing community as the building aged.

“Adding to this problem is the change in demand for more high-care rooms as the aged are staying at home longer, skipping the stage of low-care and now going straight from their homes into high-care facilities,” said Mr Katter.

“In 10 years it would be tragic to find that Mount Isa can’t house the very people that have worked for this place in what was in their day the harshest of conditions. What are we going to do – tell them to go somewhere else because we can’t care for them? That would be a disgrace.”

Mr Katter also welcomed Ageing Minister Mark Butler’s announcement yesterday of:

• a $78,000 capital works grant at Doomadgee; as well as a further five Extended Aged Care at Home packages, tailored to suit individual needs, worth almost $225,000;
• a further five Extended Aged Care at Home packages at Hughenden worth almost $225,000;
• a further three Extended Aged Care at Home Dementia packages at Charters Towers worth about $150,000; as well as a further three Community Aged Care packages, to provide home-based practical assistance and support services, worth more than $40,000.

“These grants will help more people to stay in their homes as they age, and in many cases this allows them to remain close to family and friends and in comfortable and familiar surroundings,” said Mr Katter.

Further home-based grants have been allocated to organisations in the Kennedy electorate at Innisfail and on the Tablelands; as well as extra residential care places at Gordonvale.