Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

LMAN-PAYNE () (): The right to quality and accessible health care in this country should not be a postcode lottery. Health care is a right and it should be afforded equally to all. However, we know that stark regional inequalities in health care access persist.

In Gladstone, these inequalities are seen most starkly in women's access to health care. Gladstone Hospital services a population of around 60,000 people and, usually, 600 babies are born there every year. But since 4 July it has not had a fully-functioning maternity unit. Instead, women are being forced to travel over 100 kilometres to Rockhampton to access this essential healthcare service.

Private corporations extract billions of dollars from Gladstone and Central Queensland, and all that wealth gets shipped out of the community into the pockets of investors while local services are failing. Lack of proper healthcare services also makes it harder to attract other critical workers to our community. Industry is telling us that people are not moving there because they know they can't access that service at our hospital. We have teachers who are leaving for the same reason.

The shutdown of Gladstone Hospital has now lasted for over three months, and there is still no clarity on when adequate healthcare services will resume. This is putting increased pressure on Rockhampton Hospital; now there's a risk that we're going to lose more doctors and nurses to burnout, and Central Queensland will have no functioning maternity services. I note that the Queensland government has caved in to community outrage by introducing limited services. You can currently have a planned C-section by appointment only. But the fact that a major regional hospital like Gladstone Hospital is without a fully functioning maternity unit is totally unacceptable.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Nampijinpa Price, you've got a few seconds.