Labor MPs join Wayne Swan in attack on Queensland Health

Sick Queenslanders and their families are under attack from Treasurer Wayne Swan, who cut $342 million from the State health system without a peep of criticism from Labor MPs.

Speaking in State Parliament this morning, Mr Springborg said the impact of the federal cuts would cost jobs and undermine the positive impact of increases in funding provided by the State Government as part of its 2012-’13 budget.

Six weeks after the LNP government provided Queensland Health with a budgetary increase greater than any other state in the  Commonwealth, Wayne Swan has plundered Queensland hospitals for $342M,” Mr Springborg said.

“Wayne Swan claims to represent this state, but he stabbed the former PM, Kevin Rudd, in the back. Now he is stabbing Queenslanders in the back with this assault on Queensland hospitals.”

“The Commonwealth offered health a measly increase of just 0.3pc, but that disappeared when Mr Swan moved to claw back $40M from Queensland’s 11-’12 health budget,” he said. “Now he has imposed this dramatic further cut in the Commonwealth’s mid-year economic and financial outlook statement.

Mr Springborg called on Labor MPs to support a bi-partisan parliamentary motion to condemn the cuts. “But Annastacia Palaszczuk and her six MPs stuck up for Mr Swan, not Queenslanders,” he said.

Mr Springborg’s parliamentary motion follows:

That this House notes: 

1. Health services and frontline health jobs are threatened by the Commonwealth Government’s mid-year budget review that proposes to strip $63.3 million from Queensland National Healthcare Reform (NHR) funding in 2012-13 alone - with total funding reduced by at least $341.8 million over four years; 

That the funding cut is in addition to a $40 million cut from the 2011/12 National Healthcare Special Purpose Payments owed to Queenslanders;

And urgently calls on the Commonwealth Government - including the Queensland based Federal Treasurer - to reverse the Commonwealth’s health funding cuts to the state.

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Contact: Cameron Thompson 0407-585230