More health workers and teachers boost services for Queenslanders

 The Palaszczuk Government's determination to improve services for Queenslanders was being delivered with hundreds of new nurses and teachers employed in hospitals and schools across the State.

 Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the Public Service Commission data for the March 2016 quarter show most of the additional 4058 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff engaged by the Queensland Government were in health and education.

 “We made a promise to Queenslanders to put extra teachers in our classrooms and more nurses, doctors and allied health workers, and that’s exactly what we are delivering,” the Premier said.

 “More than nine out of 10 public servants are in frontline and frontline support roles.”

 “Boosting frontline services makes a real difference to Queensland communities.”

 “Access to world-class health and education systems is critical for Queensland families, and my Government is delivering record budgets for both health and education.”

 “More than 2,229 FTE staff were engaged for Queensland Health and Queensland Ambulance Service, including more than 1,807 allied health graduates, medical interns and nurses and 422 employees working in operational and health practitioner roles.”

 The Premier said, by employing more staff in our hospitals, Queensland Health is undertaking more elective surgery activity and seeing more people in their emergency departments than ever before.

 “The Queensland Ambulance Service has seen an unprecedented and record number of calls for assistance, the reason we are employing more paramedics.”

 The Premier said more than 1,219 additional staff were from Education and Training, including more than 1,080 teachers in our classrooms.

 “Extra teachers engaged at the start of the school year are supporting Queensland’s trajectory of improvement in learning outcomes in areas such as NAPLAN and attendance,” she said.

 Other additional staff engaged in the March 2016 quarter included:

• 192 FTEs for the recommissioning of the Borallon Correctional Centre; 
• 117 FTEs for school crossing supervisors and RoadTek staff in the Department of Transport and Main Roads; and
• 48 employees in the Queensland Police Service were police and police recruits. 

 “The former Newman Government and its Treasurer Tim Nicholls announced the cut of 14,000 government workers in its first Budget. This has had severe impacts on services across Queensland. My Government is determined to restore frontline services.”

 Media contact: 0417 263 791