MEMBER for Southern Downs and Minister for Health, Lawrence Springborg, has labeled a Queensland Nurses’ Union (QNU) advertising campaign, which claims that the State Government plans to privatise public hospitals, as a lie and political point-scoring exercise.
The $300,000 ad campaign will run for the next two weeks on selected networks.
QNU members told ABC Radio that the Newman Government had “failed to come clean” on the matter to privatise hospitals, so the QNU decided to do it for them.
Mr Springborg immediately hit back at the campaign, calling it an excuse to spend union members’ money to boost the ALP before the federal election.
“I think Queenslanders will actually see this for what it is – political argy-bargy on the eve of a federal election,” he told the ABC.
“There is no proposal to privatise any existing hospital in Queensland and that has been said previously.”
Mr Springborg also called on Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, to hand back more than $100 million taken from the Queensland health system, which Mr Springborg says caused systemic job losses.
QNU spokesman Des Elder said Mr Springborg was in denial.
“We don’t believe for one minute that they have any view other than the privatisation of our hospital system,” Mr Elder said.
“We have seen them make commitments and promises about not axing frontline staff, frontline services, and they have done exactly that.
“We don’t trust for one minute that they will not attempt wherever they can to privatise the public hospital system.”
