The state Member for Cairns says new health jobs the LNP has promised for far north Queensland are not the same positions as those cut when it came to power.
The LNP has pledged an extra 179 extra front-line health workers for the Cairns and hinterland region, including 33 doctors, more than 70 nurses and about 70 allied health professionals.
It has promised nine more doctors, 31 nurses and eight health practitioners for the Cape York and Torres Strait.
Gavin King maintains the more than 200 job losses three years ago were not from the front line.
“A lot of those changes in those very difficult and tough changes were really focused around breaking down the bureaucracy, they were really about our focus needed to be on front-line services because so many things had been left to wither on the vine,” he said.
“We’re certainly being guided by the local hospital board and that’s why we’ve been able to really break it down to how many doctors and nurses and health professionals are required in our region.
“So it’s for the health board, certainly not me as a state Member, to decide exactly which positions are hired, that’s up to the local health board.”
The Together Union’s Cairns representative, Dr Sandy Donald, said he was sceptical about the promise.
“One of the early things they did is redefine front-line staff and then get rid of a lot of people who they said were less than 75 per cent front line but in fact in many cases it made services unworkable,” Dr Donald said.
“It doesn’t look like as many jobs as were cut by this Government, even the ones they announced let alone the ones they tried to say were corporate office and the other critical point here is that there’s so much secrecy and the morale is bad, we’ve still got people leaving.”
Mobile polling teams to visit remote Torres Strait islands
Meanwhile, people living on remote Torres Strait islands and near the tip of Cape York will get their chance to vote next week when mobile polling teams visit.
Electoral commission teams will be on St Pauls, Badu, Yorke, Darnley, Dauan, Stephen and Hammond islands on Tuesday.
They will be on Kubin, Boigu, Murray, Mabuiag, Saibai and Coconut islands on Wednesday.
Electors on Warraber and Yam islands, as well as New Mapoon, Seisia, and Umagico, will get to vote on Thursday, and Injinoo residents on Friday.
Only four polling booths will be operating in the region on election night, at Bamaga, Horn Island, Tamwoy Town and Thursday Island.