Kat fight on hospital bid
POLITICAL tension between Charters Towers Mayor Frank Beveridge and Traeger MP Robbie Katter has spilt over at a local candidates forum with Mr Katter accusing the mayor of misrepresenting him in the community.
During the debate on the issue of a new hospital at the Charters Towers Chamber of Commerce and Mines candidates’ forum on Monday night, Cr Beveridge called on each candidate to make the facility their number one health priority in the electorate.
He claimed the Charters Towers hospital had not had hospital status since 2012 and it had slipped below the level of the facilities and services offered in Ayr, Ingham, Mount Isa and Palm Island to be “third world”.
“In that time Mount Isa has had a huge upgrade. We’ve seen Ingham have a $60m upgrade. We’ve seen the Burdekin have a $50m upgrade,” Cr Beveridge said.
“We’ve seen tens of millions of dollars spent on Palm Island. Yet Charters Towers has slipped down. This is a third-world situation we have here.”
ALP candidate James Bambrick and LNP candidate Marnie Smith said they would make a new hospital over upgrades their priority.
Independent candidate Craig Scriven said he would make it a priority if it was what the people of Charters Towers wanted.
And though he agreed a new hospital was a top priority, incumbent Mr Katter used his answer to the question as a chance to allege
Cr Beveridge had taken an position on the issue.
“I want a new hospital. I’ll work for it,” Mr Katter said.
“When I sat in the council meeting I said dialysis and CT scanner, they’re my priority, and if that’s in a new hospital good, but getting a new hospital doesn’t mean you get those services. And they’re my priority.
“I worked well with the previous mayor who engaged in a less adversarial way and didn’t put out videos saying I’m against it.
“I’ve never said that to you (Cr Beveridge). You’ve tried to create that narrative around town. Of course I’m supportive of the new hospital and I think I can see a scenario that you’re trying to create, where you set me up to fail when you say we haven’t delivered, so therefore it’s a failure.”
Mr Katter said he was not playing politics, but would work hard to deliver a hospital and the services needed in the community.
The video Mr Katter was referring to had appeared on the Charters Towers Regional Council’s Facebook page in September.
Cr Beveridge said he was pleased to hear Mr Katter commit to making a new hospital a priority.
Cr Beveridge ran as a candidate for the LNP against Bob Katter for the seat of Kennedy in the 2019.
Townsville University Hospital is ranked a level six hospital by Queensland Health.
Ingham, Ayr and Charters Towers hospitals are ranked level three, while Hughenden and Palm Island are level two, Magnetic Island and Richmond level one.
“adversarial”