Budget 2015: Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says no job cuts to health

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says jobs will not be cut in health, despite her minister earlier saying he could not rule that out.

Health Minister Cameron Dick said last night’s budget locks in a change to federal funding formulas in coming years.

While overall funding will still increase, it will not rise at the rate promised by the previous federal government.

“The money will start dropping off dramatically from 2017-18 onwards,” Mr Dick said.

He said Queensland would be $11.8 billion worse off over the following decade.

“I cannot rule out a reduction in jobs and services.

“Queenslanders will wait longer for surgery.

“They will have to travel longer distances for treatment.”

But he later ruled out both forced and voluntary redundancies, and said he was not planning job cuts at this stage.

Ms Palaszczuk clarified the Government’s position.

“There will be no job cuts, but I am concerned about service delivery,” she said.

“Service delivery that is essential in our hospitals and health services right across this state.”

‘No excuse for anyone to lose their job over this’

Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said health funding would still increase overall.

“There is no excuse for anyone to lose their job over this,” he said.

“It is now up to the Labor Government in Queensland to stop making excuses and start telling us what their plan is.”

Shadow Treasurer John-Paul Langbroek said significant resources have been allocated to Queensland.

“Curtis Pitt and Annastacia Palaszczuk need to stop crying wolf about 2018,” he said.

But when the changes to health and education funding were announced last year, they were criticised by LNP figures including then-premier Campbell Newman.

“The states are doing the very heavy lifting on this and the Commonwealth is not putting its shoulder to the wheel in this area,” Mr Newman said in May 2014.

“You can’t just throw the health and education on the states and not give them the money to deal with the problem.”

At the time he called on other states and territories to unite against the cuts.

“If the states and territories don’t hang together … they’ll be hung separately by this Federal Government.”