THE issue with the Portland hospital helipad has been raised in the Federal Parliament.

Federal Member for Wannon Dan Tehan brought up the issue during the parliamentary sitting on Thursday last week.

The helipad has been out of action since early December, when a review found improvements were required in line with Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulations – Portland airport is being used instead as Ambulance Victoria and Portland District Health work out what to do in future.

Mr Tehan said the helipad, used for about two flights a week was “a vital community service, and the community has been left in the dark as to why it has been closed and what is being done to reopen it”.

“It seems that it has been closed because there is a CASA regulation now in force which has meant that the type of helicopter which is used now by Air Ambulance can't land at this specific helipad,” he said.

“This is meant to have impacted other helipads.

“What I would like to know is: what is the (federal) government doing to help and support the local community to deal with this CASA regulation?

“CASA is a federal body, federal regulator, and when it makes these types of decisions, obviously, the government has to be on top of them and make sure that they don’t impact local communities.

“I’ve spoken to the hospital CEO, and I’ve also spoken to the local government in the area to make sure that they’re aware and doing everything they can to fix this issue, but I would like to know what the… government are doing to assist Portland District Health and the shire to address this issue.

“Every week that goes by while we’re not allowing flights into the helipad next to Portland District Health is a week where we are putting those in the community at risk.

“The time that it takes to get out to Portland Airport, compared to a helicopter coming into Portland District Health, could be the difference in saving someone’s life.

“I hope that we will be able to get this fixed, and I hope that the… government will be able to play its role to get this helipad open as quickly as possible.

The helipad was opened in 2014 after many years of community campaigning and fundraising.

In conjunction with the Blue Ribbon Foundation, it was dedicated as a permanent police memorial in memory of Senior Constable Mark Bateman who died with his partner Senior Constable Fiona Robinson in 2000 when their divisional van was involved in a crash in Northcote in Melbourne.