The first leg of the Healthy State Tour is behind me, and so far it has been both enlightening and rewarding. We've already managed to learn a bit about the health challenges in regional Victoria, and have managed to get the preventative health message out in Warrnambool. 

We started with a fundraiser for the candidate for Wannon, Lisa Owen last night. Lisa is a great candidate who has deep ties in the local community. With the extraordinary result from this week's Newspoll in my mind, having a turnout of about 70 locals was more than encouraging. Ten years ago, that would have represented practically the national membership of the Greens. Times have changed - watch out!

Today the health tour began in earnest  when we next visited Warrnambool's Gunditjmara indigenous health co-op. The co-op provides an amazing array of services to Warrnambool's aboriginal and Torres Strait islander population. Chatting to the staff we learned of the challenges involved in staffing and funding an integrated service centre by stitching together a bewildering array of state and federal grants and programs. The challenges are exemplified by this brand-new dental suite. It was fully funded and is now ready to go, but there is no money forthcoming for a dentist to operate it. Not only is there room for improvement in how hardworking clinics like 
Gunditjmara are funded, it shows how neglected dental health can be. The Greens remain committed to making sure every Australian has access to publicly funded dental care. Not only is it a right, ultimately it can save money when acute problems are nipped in the bud with early treatment. 

 We had a great meeting with the organisers of Peter's Project. Started by Vicky Jellie, whose husband Peter died of oesophageal cancer a mere 20 weeks after diagnosis, the campaign aims to bring state-of-the-art cancer care to the region. Despite having two local oncologists, residents of the region have to travel to Melbourne for radiation therapy. The result was that Peter spent 8 of his 20 weeks away from his family and support networks. Peter's Project aims to spare other families that trauma. Vicky's hard work has garnered enormous support in Warrnambool and around the area. It's inspirational, and a great lesson in what one committed individual can do. The Greens support strong regional communities, and as such we believe that living outside a capital city shouldn't affect your ability to get decent medical treatment. The local media took an interest in the visit. I'll keep an eye on the progress of Peter's Project as it navigates its way through studies and government agencies.

Finally, we visited Warrnambool East Primary School, where principal Adrian, with help from some student tour guides, showed off the fantastic gardens on the school grounds. The award-winning garden project was great to see - it was fun for the kids, and was teaching them how to grow food while letting them get their hands dirty. Again, it shows what a single industrious staff member can do with support from a good principal. We were also able to check out the school's new hall being constructed under the Federal Government's BER program. It's great to see schools getting access to more resources, though the consistent feedback we're getting is that local staff and school councils need more control over how the money is spent. If private schools get that control, why not public schools?

The tour is already yielding great results, and I look forward to the next stop.