I think our hospital network does a great job here in the Territory facing as it does unique difficulties and challenges.

I want to thank all our health staff, within our hospitals and across the wider health system. Their job is incredibly difficult and we all owe them a great debt.

As we build health services in the Barkly we need to make sure the Tennant Creek Hospital stays connected to the local community.

A new law about hospital boards came before Parliament this week that sets out to make sure each of the Territory’s five hospital boards can function and be valued as representing the views of the community.

It also makes sure the very necessary standards of public accountability and process are maintained and followed.

In Tennant Creek, the hospital board has suffered from declining membership, has struggled with what is required of it and in some cases has struggled to function at all because of the difficulties in attracting board members and giving them the right jobs to do.

The old law regarding hospital boards hamstrung all the hard work and good intentions of our previous board members and we owe them a big vote of thanks too.

The Henderson Government knows this challenge needs support and the new law will make sure each of our public hospitals have a new Board that is again raised from the community which they serve.

The Henderson Government wants the new board to make sure the voice of the community is heard, to consult with the people of the Barkly and help those views shape the service we provide in the future.

The board will no longer require eight members; it can have three to six people. They won’t have to have medical expertise or high-level budgetary management skills as that advice will be provided by staff experts.

The sort of people we’re looking for will need to be able to move between the hospital and the community, they will need to be able to find out what their community wants and turn that into advice that shapes future services.