A re-elected Labor state government will provide an extra $4 million in funding to the National Centre of Farmer Health should it win the state election in November.
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Premier Daniel Andrews, who spoke at the Victoria Farmers Federation conference in Ballarat on Friday, said the funding would enable the Hamilton-based centre to continue to offer healthcare services to farmers and their communities.
Mr Andrews said farmers were less likely to visit the GP and due to this, more likely to suffer from illnesses like depression.
He said the funding would allow it to continue its award-winning programs and also expand in coming years.
“We know there are things we can do,” Mr Andrews said,
“We know that there are proven models to intervene and deliver much better outcomes that is not just changing lives, but saving lives.
“When you’ve got a good model, when you’ve got something you know works, and you are facing such tragic challenges, you need to invest in that.”
The centre is a national leader in health, well-being and safety, providing health assessments – including cholesterol, blood pressure and eyesight testing – to the most isolated communities.
Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford said the centre was “a national treasure” that needed to be supported.
“We were utterly dismayed throughout 2011,12 and 13 when the National Centre for Farmers Health was down to the barest of bones by the time we came into government in 2014,” Ms Pulford said.
“Staffing went from around 15 to two-and-a-half, if that had have continued into one more financial year, it would have tragically been a case of last person please turn out the lights.
“We made a commitment in 2014 for $4 million in funding so the centre could be rebuilt to its great strength.
“This is an organisation that undertakes cutting edge research but also very practical on farm and in community health checks.”
Ms Pulford said farming was a $13 billion industry in Victoria and this would allow four years more of investment in rural communities and families.