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Mr STEVE WHAN (Monaro) [6.08 p.m.], by leave: I draw the attention of the House to an important rescue service for south-eastern New South Wales, that is, the Snowy Hydro Southcare Helicopter Service. It is a vital medical retrieval rescue service for the region. It has been operating now for some years and is regularly used in the region to ferry seriously injured people from car and skiing accidents. In the past it has even been used to rescue people from the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. I attend the Snowy Hydro Southcare Helicopter Ball each year, where I hear stories of people who have been rescued by the helicopter and the importance of the work it undertakes. It comes as no surprise that many people in my region have a great emotional attachment to it because it gives them a feeling of safety and reassurance.
The helicopter service is a vital part of health services in the region, so I was greatly concerned about comments made by the honourable member for Bega, who suggested to the Monaro community that the proposed sale of the Snowy Hydro Ltd might mean there is no guarantee that the Snowy Hydro Southcare Helicopter Service would remain. I assume that the scare campaign was designed to upset the people of south-eastern New South Wales. Tonight I place on record the absolute falsity of that disgraceful scare campaign.
Clearly, the honourable member for Bega does not know that the cost of the Snowy Hydro Southcare Helicopter Service is underwritten in full by the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory governments. Indeed, the New South Wales Labor Government underwrites 90 per cent of the Snowy Hydro Southcare Helicopter Service. The sponsorship provided by Snowy Hydro is important to the helicopter service. If that sponsorship ceased for some reason, the service would continue because it is underwritten by the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory governments. So the people of Monaro and south-eastern New South Wales—and, indeed, southern New South Wales—can be absolutely assured that the helicopter service is in no danger. It is disgraceful to suggest that it is.
There is no reason to think that Snowy Hydro would discontinue its sponsorship. It makes its decision on a commercial basis, based on returns and the goodwill that is generated in the community. There is no reason to think that that should change, even if Snowy Hydro is privatised. Honourable members would be well aware, as I have said it regularly, that I am vehemently opposed to the privatisation of Snowy Hydro, which unfortunately is a decision taken by the Government. Although I have stated my opposition, it is important that honourable members do not run scare campaigns and mislead and worry people unnecessarily. The Southcare helicopter is a classic case of such a campaign. As I said, this important service has a great deal of community support. The service runs a terrific fundraising ball each year, which I attend, and many other fundraising events throughout south-eastern New South Wales. Members opposite, and members of both sides of politics in the Australian Capital Territory, also support those events.
The main impetus for the Southcare helicopter came from the Liberal Senator Gary Humphries, and I give him his due. The proposal was taken on by the Australian Capital Territory Labor Government, and the New South Wales Labor Government provided its support. The Southcare service does a lot of goodwill work around the community, including school visits—it choppers in and gives kids the opportunity to look over the helicopter—visits to preschools and so on. The helicopter service and the committed medical staff in the ambulance services and hospitals in the Monaro area, which the New South Wales Government is upgrading and improving, are a terrific asset for the south-eastern community. Once again I place on the record that the disgraceful scare campaign relating to the Southcare helicopter is totally untrue. There is no danger to the service, which is underwritten by the State Government and the taxpayers of New South Wales.