Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Blair for his question, and I certainly acknowledge his ferocious advocacy for health services in his area and elsewhere. As far as the Howard government is concerned, country people will never be second-class citizens when it comes to health care.

Since 1996 the Howard government has announced four new medical schools outside capital cities. It has established 14 rural clinical schools. It has established 11 university departments of rural health. The government is making rural retention payments of up to $25,000 a year to nearly 2,000 doctors. It has subsidised the employment of more than 1,100 nurses in country general practice. It has recently doubled the incentive payments to country GPs who are doing anaesthetics, obstetrics and minor surgery. As a result of these and other measures, there are now nearly seven per cent more doctors in Australia overall on a full-time workforce equivalent basis, but nearly 25 per cent more doctors in country areas. On a headcount basis, the number of doctors practising in country areas has increased from 5,400 in 1996 to 6,900 now. In the seat of Blair, the number of doctors has gone from 80 in 1996 to 105 today, thanks in part to the policies of the Howard government.

By contrast, most of the states have neglected country hospitals—in particular, by closing down rural maternity units. And, as usual, the state of Queensland is the worst offender. Since 1998 the Beattie government has closed—would you believe this?—36 out of 84 public maternity units. Forty per cent of the maternity units in the state of Queensland have been closed down by the Beattie government. As well as Kilcoy and Gatton in the electorate of Blair, these centres have lost their maternity units: Weipa, Ingham, Bowen, Collinsville, Winton, Yeppoon, Maryborough and Beaudesert, as well as many others. All have lost their maternity units thanks to the negligence and the neglect of the Beattie government.

Premier Beattie is saying, ‘Re-elect me to fix the Queensland health system.’ Why would you elect to fix the system a man who broke the system in the first place?

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