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RHETT BURNIE

THE proposed Wallan Superclinic will go ahead if the Liberal Party wins the Federal election, it was revealed last week.
Liberal candidate for McEwen Cameron Caine made the guarantee last Thursday while hosting a visit from the Shadow Minister for Health, Peter Dutton, at the Wallan Neighbourhood House.
"We all know that Wallan is one of our fastest growing towns in Victoria and I am delighted that it will be the Coalition government that will actually deliver for the future of our communities," he said.
"I will ensure there are real discussions with our Wallan community and our local doctors to deliver real action for a GP Superclinic," he said.
The commitment comes despite Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott telling a Melbourne radio station that Superclinics are "one of the great migraines of health policy."
Labor recently pledged a further $2.5 million to the previously promised $1 million for the Wallan Superclinic.
Meanwhile, Mr Dutton, who was in Wallan to tout the Coalition’s recently announced $1.5 billion mental health initiative, said the Wallan Superclinic would still go ahead under an Abbott Federal Government because the Gillard Government has already signed building contracts.
"The choice is paying out the contract which the Commonwealth has entered into and getting nothing for the community, or at least salvaging what best we can between the Commonwealth contract arrangement and the providers," he said.
Mr Dutton also told the told a small contingent of Wallan residents that the Coalition mental health policy would focus on the provision of psychological health services, particularly for young people and men.
He also said the Coalition would build a number of stand-alone mental health services across Australia, including the construction of 20 early psychosis centres and 60 ‘Head Space’ sites.
Eight hundred beds will also be provided for mental health patients, he said.
"These programs are targeted at particularly the age group of 12 to 25, this will relieve the pressure in other areas of service that we provide so it gives more support to the men, to the fathers and some of those other role figures …" Mr Dutton said.
"One of the most difficult things for our community to deal with is mental health and for way too long there’s been a stigma about mental health and the way in which we talk about it as a community," he added.
Mr Caine agreed with Mr Dutton, saying he had seen a number of mental health issues develop among younger people and men since the Black Saturday bushfires.
"There are some terrible personal situations that as a society, over time, we haven’t been able to deal well with," Mr Caine said.
But despite all the bravado surrounding the new policy, Mr Dutton could not guarantee that any of the mental health sites would be made available in the McEwen electorate.
"What we are guaranteeing is that we will listen to Cameron, who is fighting for one, and we will listen to health experts about where they will be," Mr Dutton said.
The Labor candidate for McEwen, Rob Mitchell, said he was sceptical about Mr Caine’s statement about the Wallan Superclinic, saying he believes that Tony Abbott will abolish the project if the Liberals win the Federal election.
"Cameron Caine needs to stand up and explain how he can make this disingenuous promise, particularly after Tony Abbott unveiled the coalition’s Real Action Plan for Better Mental Health, the plan will come at the expense of investment in e-health, Medicare locals and GP Superclinics, all of which will be scrapped in their entirety to free up necessary funding," he said.