Elective Surgery Waitlist Blowout Shows Queensland Health Crisis
The Queensland Health Crisis has reached a shocking new low under Labor with more Queenslanders than ever before waiting for life-changing surgery like hip replacements or cataracts surgery. This waiting list has jumped by 2.5% to 61,421 Queenslanders between the end of March to the end of June this year – the biggest number ever recorded and double the number it was in 2015 when the Palaszczuk-Miles Government came to power. This data come after Queensland also recorded the worst six-month period in Queensland history for ambulance ramping.
It is numbers like these that the LNP, if elected, are determined to drive down – and to be held accountable for. Our plan to health the health crisis begins with better resources and triaging, releasing data in real-time and putting doctors and nurses back in charge to improve patient care. Our hard-working health professionals are doing the best they can, but the system has failed them. To change this, we need to change the government.
Water on Tamborine Mountain
We are in that dry time of year when limited rainfall means household tanks may be getting near empty, if they haven’t been already. I’m aware there are only a limited number of water carriers on the Mountain, and they get busy quickly when the orders start coming in after dry months – ordering early is a good idea. In the past, I’ve written in this column about the importance of ensuring there is local water supply for locals, and some of the challenges that our region’s planning scheme presents for permitting both extraction and delivery businesses to operate on that basis (that is, extracting local water for solely local supply), while also ensuring that extraction and off-Mountain tankering is regulated in line with community expectations. This remains a challenge, but one I’d encourage local government to have another look at in conjunction with any upcoming review of the Scenic Rim Planning Scheme. In the meantime, the moratorium under the Water Act on new bores (with limited exceptions) remains in place in the lead-up to the review of this region’s water plan by 2026.
Rural Fire Service Week
The official fire season started on 1 August, which was also right in the middle of Rural Fire Service week. I’d like to encourage people across the entire region to prepare for these dry days with increasing heat that can lead to grass and bush fires. Cleaning gutters, removing debris from around homes and preparing a plan for your family in the event of a fire are all precautions that are better taken now, rather than when emergency comes. Thank you to all our volunteer rural firefighters – from Grandchester in the west of Scenic Rim Electorate, all the way to Beechmont in the east!
