Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is important that governments of whatever political colour recognise the needs of people in their communities regardless of how those people voted at the state or federal elections. On the Sunshine Coast we have had a string of media reports with horror stories that relate to the health system, which is struggling after years of neglect by the state Labor government. Premier Anna Bligh should hang her head in shame for allowing the local public hospital system to degenerate to what at least one newspaper blogger described as ‘Third World’. It is an issue which must again be brought to the attention of the Australian people because it is becoming alarming and developing into a situation that is dangerous and possibly life threatening—and recently reported incidents attest to that.

The community has a solution: the overdue Kawana hospital should be fast-tracked. It is an issue that has been highlighted time and time again to the Queensland Labor government, including a peaceful protest march last November in which some 1,500 concerned coast residents participated. I was proud to take part in the march. The hospital was originally due for completion in 2014 but has been put back to 2016-17. This is in an area where the population will grow by its current size to about 500,000 in the next 10 years. We are desperately short of beds now and our high population growth means the need will be even greater in six years time. I suggested at the time of the cancellation of the Traveston dam in November 2009 that the billions set aside for that project could be redirected to the Kawana hospital.

This is a situation where people’s health is being endangered. The state Labor government is simply ignoring local needs and punishing the people of the Sunshine Coast for voting for the Liberal-National Party at state and federal elections. A former Labor candidate exhibited sour grapes after the last state election. She wrote in a letter to the local newspaper:

… we need to work in the system to protect our interests and have a productive role in the governing of our beautiful region.

And she went on to say:

Sadly, we will reap what we have sown as we have now lost the opportunity for the next three years …

That was by Jody Tunnicliffe in the Sunshine Coast Daily on 26 March 2009.

People have had a gutful of governments playing politics with people’s health. Regardless of how people in the particular area voted, if there is a health need it is important that it is met, particularly when the state Labor government promised a hospital and then, after people voted for the LNP, promptly reneged on the promise. The government broke the promise and put the hospital off for a period of time, endangering people’s health and lives.