Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For the last 2½ years, the community I represent on the north side of Brisbane have suffered greatly from the Liberal and National parties' savage cuts to health services, particularly front-line health services, on the north side. We have seen the virtual destruction of the Eventide Nursing Home and the pain that it has caused the local community. In fact, last Saturday morning I was with 50 or 60 local residents talking to them about the systematic destruction of that facility and the uncertainty about its future. There is a double whammy happening on the north side: it is not just the cuts from the Newman government but also the cuts from the Abbott government. The north side is home to two very significant hospitals: the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and the Prince Charles Hospital. There is probably no other area of Queensland that has a higher proportion of health related workers than the north side of Brisbane, and they are feeling these cuts very keenly.

The Newman government has shut down facilities and beds at the Eventide Nursing Home, closed 30 beds at the Prince Charles Hospital, slashed 420 jobs at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and sacked 250 people from Prince Charles Hospital. These cuts from the Newman government are now going to be added to by cuts from the Abbott government, which is going to cut $50 billion from health across the nation, over $10 billion in Queensland over a decade and over $2 billion in Brisbane's Metro North Hospital and Health Service. That is right: something like a staggering $2 billion of cuts over the next decade from Brisbane north in health services alone. That is the equivalent of sacking one in five nurses and one in three doctors and closing one in 13 hospital beds. That is what I mean by a double whammy—the combined impact of both the Newman government's cuts and the Abbott government's cuts. We have seen this surface in the chaotic administration of Brisbane metro north, which is now seeing a number of very senior officials stood aside, and we simply do not now have the clear administrative direction that a hospital of that size deserves. All of this can be laid very squarely at the feet of the Newman government.

We had another disturbing event last week, where Prince Charles Hospital senior medical professionals wrote to the health minister to complain about the lack of service and capacity of the new paediatric department. This is an essential facility for families on the north side. I wrote to the health minister in these terms: 'We wish to draw to your attention the precarious position of the Paediatric Accident and Emergency Department at Prince Charles Hospital.' The letter goes on, 'This is, indeed, quite alarming and quite concerning for any parent on the north side.' I think it is emblematic of the cuts—not just here in the paediatric department but more broadly—having a devastating impact on the peace of mind of the community who value this hospital, value its facilities and value its workforce.