Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on probably the most important issue that exists in our society today. In Mareeba we had a meeting and a thousand people turned up. I know that because I counted the number of people outside—I thought the meeting hadn't started—and then I went inside, where there were 700 chairs. We have no outpatients services. In Queensland, effectively, all of the outpatients services are being closed. That means that, if you are sick or need medical care, you have to go to the local private medical practitioners. In the case of Mareeba, the major medical practitioners are turning away 23 people a day. Dr Grant Manypeney is a very good citizen. Because the state government has almost doubled the wages for doctors, if he charges by bulk-billing, he cannot pay his doctors. There's just not enough money there to do it, and that is happening throughout all of Queensland. That was in Mareeba. I was down in Callide meeting with people. I had lunch, and a number of elderly people came over and said that exactly the same situation exists in places like Biloela and Theodore as well. (Time expired)