THE HON CATHERINE KING MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND MEDICARE
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR BALLARAT
FIONA PHILLIPS
LABOR CANDIDATE FOR GILMORE
LABOR’S MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT PLAN FOR ILLAWARRA/SHOALHAVEN HOSPITALS
A Shorten Labor government will invest millions of dollars in additional funding in Illawarra and Shoalhaven public hospitals, funding more beds and bringing down emergency department and elective surgery waiting times.
We have pledged to fully reverse Malcolm Turnbull’s 2019-2025 hospital cuts by establishing a national $2.8 billion Better Hospitals Fund – meaning we will deliver a record investment in the health of all Australians.
Turnbull is cutting $11.6 million from Illawarra and Shoalhaven hospitals between now and 2020 alone – and now he wants to lock in the cuts for another 5 years.
In contrast, Labor’s investment will fund more doctors, nurses and other hospital staff and give them the support they need to deliver the world-class care the people of this region deserve.
Labor is the party of public health and Medicare – and we will always deliver better public hospital funding than the Liberals.
The Liberals will stop at nothing to privatise and Americanise Medicare and our public hospital system.
Greg Hunt claims hospital funding is at record levels. But this ignores the fact there will be 5 million extra people living in Australia in 2025 than there were in 2015.
The independent experts say “spending is actually declining on a per capita basis” and warn “Australians will either become sicker or be forced to pay more for medical care”.
In his latest Budget, Turnbull is showering $80 billion worth of tax cuts on his mates at the top end of town – but apparently he can’t find a fraction of that money to properly fund Australia’s public hospitals.
His priorities are all wrong.
After years of conservative funding attacks, Australia’s public hospitals are in crisis. They simply cannot keep up with the increasing demand of an growing and ageing population.
As a result of the Liberals’ cuts to Medicare and hospitals:
- The national average wait time for elective surgery is the longest on record.
- The number of hospital beds available for elderly Australians is the lowest on record.
- One in three patients with ‘urgent’ needs in Australia’s emergency departments are not being seen on time
The Australian Medical Association says the Liberals’ funding formula will “doom our public hospitals to fail and patients will suffer as a result”. This situation simply cannot go on.
Labor will fix New South Wales’ hospitals.
MONDAY, 14 MAY 2018