The Standard

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PetersProject

FRIDAY, February 25, 2011 27

An Advertising Feature of The Standard

Tasks not
over by a
long shot

Then opposition leader Ted Baillieu with South West Coast MP Denis Napthine and Peters Project director Vicki Jellie pictured in October last
year during the Liberals election commitment to fund radiotherapy facilities in Warrnambool.
101009RG38

Project takes shape

By MADELEINE McNEIL
THIS time 12 months ago many of us
had not heard, or knew anything, about
Peters Project a long-term campaign
to create an integrated cancer-care
centre in Warrnambool.
Today, we celebrate how far the
campaign has come in the year since its
launch.
Peters Project was first initiated two
years ago with the committee meeting in
March, 2009.
Were proud of whats happened, from
where weve come and what weve been
able to achieve, project director Vicki
Jellie said.
The committee gathered information
from people in the relevant fields and
learned much in the first year, she said.
Committee members visited a cancer
centre in Wagga, which Mrs Jellie said
they would have picked up and moved
to Warrnambool if it was physically
possible.
The centre was the perfect example of
the services they wanted for the south-

west. We gathered information about

the government and how they decided
who gets what cancer centre where. The
federal government, the politics, I was
astounded.
Those sort of people, (on the committee) the Glenys Phillpots and the Vern
Robsons, dont get involved in something
if they dont believe in it, so I knew then
it was do-able, to fight for it, she said.
We learnt a lot as we went along. We
learnt there was going to be some money
going to be available from the federal
government and decided to look into
that.
We were knocked back. We only
wanted $200,000 out of $560 million.
Thats all we asked for to do a proper
study for ourselves, she said.
The state government backed a
feasibility study into the centre which
was initiated by former health minister
Daniel Andrews. That became an
implementation study in December after
the Baillieu government was elected.
It was luck they turned it straight
from a feasibility study into an

implementation study, Mrs Jellie said.

Denis Napthine said in all his years
in politics hes never seen something go
from there to here in such a quick time
and Id never thought about that.
I thought gosh, this has taken
forever and I knew it could take years.
We would have battled on for years, she
said.
Definitely. We were lucky.
From April last year, The Standard
published regular articles about cancer
patients and their families struggles as
they travelled for treatment. Radio station 3YB also supported the campaign.
For those first few months it (the
publicity) was every week and I had
people say to me Im sick of hearing
about Peters Project and I said Well
good, its working then isnt it? Thats
what this was about, Mrs Jellie said.
Ive said that this isnt about Peter
Jellie. Initially it started for Peter Jellie
but its not about Peter Jellie, its about
all the Peter Jellies (in the south-west
region battling cancer) Its about
everyone.

WITHIN the next few months the south-west

community and the Peters Project committee
will know where Warrnambools new cancer
care centre will be located.
Campaigner Vicki Jellie said state health
minister David Davis would make the decision once he had read the recommendations
prepared by consultants.
The report will be presented to the Peters
Project advisory committee at South West
Healthcare next Monday.
Mrs Jellie said it would be interesting
to read the findings and she was looking
forward to the next few months to know
where the centre would be located.
Weve set the foundation now of who we
are, but then we will be able to make more
decisions, so it is pretty exciting, she said.
How well spend the money and how well
raise more money if we need to do that. It
will be interesting to see what the outcome
is.
These findings will detail the services the
centre will provide.
Mrs Jellie is hoping for up to two radiotherapy machines and that the cancer centre
be the one-stop shop she has envisaged from
the beginning.
After so much hard work and so many
hurdles cleared, she expects the day the
details are announced by the minister to be
an emotional one.
But while it was positive that the State
Government had committed to the project,
public support was still needed, she said.
As we go along, theres a lot more to come.
We need them (the public) for a long time
yet, and no matter what happens, Peters
Project wont go away.
I worried when people heard (in
December) that were going to get it, that
they might think thats done, lets move on
but that the furtherest from the truth.
We need them to continue (to support
Peters Project) but well be able to give them
a better idea of what we need to do as a
community when the decision is made.
We will need to call on the community
in the next few months once we realise the
outcome of the study.
We need to get it going. Its not over by a
long shot, Mrs Jellie said.

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