Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I wish I did not have to raise this issue, but I simply cannot leave it uncovered. Reports from a number of concerned constituents in my electorate of Capricornia have highlighted a grave under-resourcing in the Queensland health system. It has come to my knowledge that access to appropriate care for sexual assault victims is simply not being afforded to them in Central Queensland. This simply is not good enough.

In a country like Australia, we have an expectation that, when the chips are down and we are truly in need, we will be cared for. Unfortunately, right now in CQ, this does not extend to victims of sexual assault. Where there were once 14 properly trained professionals, there is now just one. This leaves just one person to service an area roughly double the size of Tasmania. Victims are having to travel hundreds of kilometres to receive care and examinations, and are at times left alone in a room, waiting for assistance, reflecting on their recent trauma. This leads to victims deciding to 'give it a miss', leaving them without proper care and leaving the perpetrators of these heinous crimes with a 'get out of jail free' card.

Despite federal funding continuing to grow, the Labor state government has let Central Queensland down, in a most horrific fashion. I call on Annastacia Palaszczuk and Steven Miles to fix this disgraceful negligence as a matter of urgency. Nobody should be denied care in a situation as desperate as that which these poor people find themselves in.

See this speech in context