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The government has the
opportunity to build the state’s social justice and economic prosperity
with its 2008 budget, using the extensive additional funds from GST and
mining royalties, Member for Flinders Liz Penfold said.
“People living in
regional areas have a lower life expectancy and, while primary health care
is identified as the base on which all health care stands, it is the area
that this government is targeting for cuts,” she said.
“With such healthy state
revenues, the government can and should take another look particularly at
primary health care in rural and regional South Australia.”
Mrs Penfold said primary
health care is delivered by health workers with
close access to the community and includes GPs and district hospitals.
She is worried that at
least five hospitals could be lost on Eyre Peninsula with the government
downgrading them to old age facilities with funding responsibility
transferred to the even more remote federal government.
“Reducing basic health
services leads to increased waiting lists particularly for the poor and
regional people, with some missing out altogether on essential surgical
and other therapeutic procedures.”
Mrs Penfold has called
for a review of the PATS scheme to take account of the current escalating
travel and other costs associated with accessing specialist treatment.
She criticised Labor’s
population-based funding policy that drains money from the country to put
into monuments like the Marjorie Jackson-Nelson hospital, and Labor’s
removal of professionals under the flawed Shared Services model that
simply further emasculates health delivery while imposing greater social
injustice on rural and regional South Australia.
Infrastructure and mining
Mrs Penfold also said
that small schools such as Port Neill must be supported.
“We are on the verge of a
mining boom which brings with it a lift in population in rural areas, with
schools close to home for primary students becoming a matter of social
justice for families,” she said.
Mrs Penfold said economic
prosperity rests on appropriate infrastructure to support wealth producing
businesses that provide the state’s revenue and therefore income for
social action.
“Of the $33.6 million set
down for road safety, $29.4 million is for widening road shoulders, not
for new work. The Lock to Cummins road is among many on Eyre Peninsula
that need to be widened particularly now mining is imminent.
“Rail urgently needs
upgrading to a level that can transport minerals. This is one of the many
weaknesses in our infrastructure that mining prospects have identified and
where this state government has funded the equivalent of less than half a
kilometre of rail on a line that is over 600 kms long.
“Thevenard must be
deepened to take at least Panamax size ships to handle the increase in
exports from that port. The larger Cape Bulker ships that are now the
industry norm require around 18 to 20 metres depth of water.
“Iluka’s bid to mine
zircon sands and export to its facility in Western Australia for
processing points to another area where we are weak. We should be
value-adding right here to increase our economic prosperity, however power
and water are an issue at Ceduna because of the lack of facilitation by
this government of private enterprise projects” she said.
Research, airport
Mrs Penfold said the Port
Lincoln airport is the state’s busiest regional airport however Lower Eyre
Peninsula District Council’s small ratepayer base would find it virtually
impossible to fund a capital infrastructure upgrade of upwards of $15
million or more without help from the government.
Minnipa Research Station
and Sims Farm have an active and important role to play in delivering
farming practices that work successfully with climate change while the
Lincoln Marine Science Centre should be funded as a world class centre of
excellence in research along with corresponding degree-level courses.
“I am worried that
instead we will see further funding cuts or funding that does not match
inflation.
“The opportunities are
open for the government to do more than talk about its support for mining
and for social justice for regional South Australia in this budget,” Mrs
Penfold said.
“Labor’s penchant for
taxpayer funded depreciating-liabilities like the retro-fitted solar
panels for the Adelaide airport instead of income-earning, job-creation
assets is leading this state into another State Bank bankruptcy,” she
said. ENDS
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