Michelle Rowland used her inaugural speech in Federal Parliament to promise to fight for health dollars for Blacktown.
NEW member for Greenway Michelle Rowland used her inaugural speech in Federal Parliament to promise to fight for health dollars for her electorate - only to see her leader sacrifice Blacktown for the bush.
Just 48 hours after telling the Blacktown Advocate she would “address some of the health disparities that exist in Western Sydney”, Ms Rowland was sidelined by Prime Minister Julia Gillard who put Blacktown Hospital’s desperately-needed $150m, 100-bed upgrade on hold.
Instead, the prime minister ordered the money be diverted to country regions as part of the government’s deal with the two rural independents whose support allowed Labor to form a minority government.
The urgent upgrade of Blacktown Hospital was dumped from a funding priority list, leaving the community in the political wilderness.
Instead of the major upgrade, Blacktown Hospital was allocated just 18 new beds out of the Government’s $1.1 billion National Health and Hospitals reform plan for NSW Hospitals.
The rookie MP denied the reallocation of funds was designed to curry favour with the independents.
“There is need in rural areas, but it’s not to say that there isn’t need in Western Sydney,” Ms Rowland said.
Despite the setback, she vowed to use her position in the government to fight for better healthcare facilities in Western Sydney.
“I am a member of the government which the [health] minister is a member of and I can assure you that the first thing I did this morning was pick up the phone to her,” she said.
Ms Rowland said she had received a letter from Ms Gillard stating that a tender process would begin in a few weeks for the GP Super Clinic in Blacktown, and had been assured there would be more funding available in the health budget.
“Western Sydney does not cease to be the only thing that I care about,” she said.
“I am sure that rural and regional Australian hospitals have needs and that is reflected in the funding package announced by the government but I want to make it clear that the only hospital I care about is Blacktown.”
Source: whereilive
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