Breast Screening
Warragamba Dam

Mrs KARYN PALUZZANO (Penrith—Parliamentary Secretary) [1.29 p.m.]: I report today on two recent events in Penrith: the reopening of a breast-screening unit in Myer Penrith and the reopening of Warragamba Dam and its picnic facilities. I refer to the reopening of the breast-screening unit in Penrith because it is an initiative of the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute, which is part of the Sydney West Area Health Service, to have breast-screening units within Myer stores. There is one in Myer Parramatta and now there are units in Myer Penrith, Myer Castle Hill and Myer Blacktown. There are also four new digital units in and around the hospitals in western Sydney. They are state-of-the art mammogram clinics and I commend Professor John Boyages, professor in charge of the Breast Cancer Institute, and his team, including Barry Finch, who has been supporting the refurbishment of the breast-screening units throughout the Sydney West Area Health Service. I also thank Minister Barbara Perry for attending the opening at Myer Penrith.

If members go to a lingerie section at Myer, whether at Parramatta, Castle Hill, Blacktown or Penrith, they will see a breast-screening clinic. It is open during all retail trading hours, so it extends the service to women in western Sydney who might not be able to use it during business hours if they are working. They can also attend the clinic on weekends. I also thank Rhonda Crimston, of Glenbrook, who was diagnosed with a malignant breast lump in August through the screening. The lump was removed two weeks later. Mrs Crimston said that without the mammogram her cancer could have gone undetected for months. Since then she has become an advocate for the breast-screening clinics. Rhonda is a member of the Glenbrook Bowling Club and since her diagnosis she has made it her role to outline the importance of having a mammogram.

At the opening of the unit there were a number of women from Glenbrook Bowling Club present to support her in her role as an ambassador but also to promote BreastScreen throughout Penrith and the lower Blue Mountains area. I commend Rhonda for her bravery during her treatment and for being able to take part in the opening of the unit and say thank you not only for the diagnosis tool, the new digital mammography unit, but also to the healthcare professionals who are treating her. I pay particular tribute to the radiographers, considering I was one in a former life. They do a terrific job in health care.

I refer also to another reopening. Warragamba Dam has been closed to the public for approximately 10 years and those of us who grew up in western Sydney and greater Sydney would know that Warragamba Dam was a famous picnic spot. It is also a significant part of the Sydney water catchment system. It was built in the 1950s and 1960s. It was a great pleasure for me to be at the reopening on Sunday with my father-in-law, Livio Nassivera, whose picture some may have seen on page 7 of the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday. He worked on construction of the dam from 1954 to 1961 during floods, fires and all types of weather. Construction went on seven days a week, 24 hours a day, whether it was the middle of winter or the heat of summer. There were about 2,500 workers from 28 nations working on the construction of the dam. It was good to see those who were able to attend on Sunday. Livio spent most of the afternoon saying hello to workmates he had not seen for many years.

I point out that the picnic facilities were part of the reopening. They are part of the $240 million major upgrade of the dam, which includes $111 for an auxiliary spillway to enable the dam to withstand a worst-case flood. There is $62 million for construction of a pumping station, which is 92 metres below the top of the wall. Deepwater compression divers worked for three weeks cutting a hole in the bottom of the dam, which will allow access to water during a severe drought. An amount of $9 million was spent replacing valves and one of the old valves has been relocated and forms part of the interpretive signage. I urge members to visit the site. Many millions of dollars was also spent on the picnic facilities. I welcome the reopening of Warragamba Dam and I urge all those who remember the old dam to go and see the new Warragamba. Come and join us in November.