It’s a healthy record

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the LNP are good at bagging, but they’re not good at building. This week, we caught another glimpse of the LNP’s blatant hypocrisy when they resorted to misleading our community on the northern Gold Coast.

So, I want to outline some facts. In this year’s budget the Palaszczuk Government committed $1.3 billion to build a new hospital at Coomera with 404 beds to be operational in 2027.

The LNP are trying to suggest that this commitment has changed. That is incorrect.

Let me be clear, the planning document the LNP are sourcing predated the Palaszczuk Government’s funding commitment for the new hospital in this year’s Budget.

The statement in the document referring to an “estimated opening year of 2028” therefore did not reflect the new $1.3 billion investment in the Budget.

As responsible governments should, we’re planning for the future to turn the Coomera Hospital site into a truly integrated hospital and health precinct.

As part of the Ministerial Infrastructure Designation process seeking planning approval, it is important to set out the entire masterplan including future stages beyond the new $1.3 billion hospital.

This is to allow for proper environmental assessment and community consultation in regards to the proposed development.

For David Crisafulli and the LNP to criticise the government for planning for future stages takes some nerve given there would be no new hospital if they were in power.

In fact, the ONLY health commitment they made at the 2020 election was a $4 million planning study. And, when they were last in Government they cut 4400 health jobs and ripped $120 million from Queensland Health Community organisations like the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health service, Stroke Association, Deaf Services through to the Cerebral Palsy League as part of their so-called ‘debtreduction plan’.

Now David Crisafulli and the LNP are again saying they’re formulating another ‘debt-reduction plan’.

In contrast, we are delivering a $1.3 billion 404 bed hospital at Coomera, 114 bed expansion at Robina Hospital, $16.5 million Robina Hospital Emergency Department Expansion, 70 bed expansion and 40 bed Secure Mental Health Rehabilitation unit at Gold

Coast University Hospital and a $4 million redevelopment of Southport Ambulance Station

We are also building a satellite hospital in Tugun. Again, the LNP refused to match our commitment at the 2020 election and now appear fixated on the name which is bizarre given it wouldn’t exist if they got into government.

Our satellite hospitals will provide ambulatory and simple day services and take pressure of our other major hospitals. Even a Gold Coast Bulletin journalist said calling it a ‘satellite hospital’ was “justified” when looking at the services it will provide and pressure it will take off our other hospitals.

This is all in addition to the Emergency Expansion and Hybrid Theatre at GCUH and CT Scanner and Mental Health Stabilisation Unit at Robina we’ve opened since elected.

In fact, since coming to Government, we’ve increased the Gold Coast Health and Hospital budget by 82 per cent, opened an extra 157 hospital beds and hired over 300 more doctors, over 1600 more nurses, and around 140 ambos.

So, I’m happy to stand up on our track record any day of the week.

... the LNP are good at bagging, but they’re not good at building