Children hurt by cuts in budget

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HEALTH RISK: Blair MP Shayne Neumann says budget health cuts will hurt the most vulnerable in society and increase emergency department waiting times.

HEALTH RISK: Blair MP Shayne Neumann says budget health cuts will hurt the most vulnerable in society and increase emergency department waiting times. Kate Czerny

 

CHILDREN and veterans in Ipswich are set to be hit hard by a further $2 billion cut to health in the Federal budget.

That is the word from Blair MP Shayne Neumann who has also called on the Coalition to reverse the decision to scrap the previous Labor Government’s Health and Hospitals Reform Agreement, and to reinstate the $57 billion he said was ripped out of public hospital funding from 2017-18 to 2024-25.

Mr Neumann said those cuts would see the West Moreton region, including Ipswich and the Brisbane Valley, suffer an $803 million shortfall.

“This budget has another $2 billion nationally in cuts,” Mr Neumann said.

“They have cut funding from the child dental benefits schedule, they have halved the amount for child health assessments and cut funding for veterans’ dental and allied health payments and from e-health and PBS listed drugs.”

Mr Neumann said this was “fundamental unfairness”.

“They are putting at risk Australia’s health and the most vulnerable people are going to be left reeling from this assault – particularly veterans, children and people in regional areas,” Mr Neumann said.

“We have thousands of veterans and almost 20,000 children in Blair.”

Mr Neumann said Labor’s health reforms would have brought down emergency department waiting times and reduced elective surgery waiting lists.

“Instead we have returned to yet more cost shifting, disagreement and no national commitment whatsoever to reform the sector.

“Worse than this, Tony Abbott has set the reform agenda back a decade by ripping $57 billion out of public hospitals.”