Balance

By: NickStanton (Registered ) on 19-11-2007 10:59

I totally understand what you are saying 'Birdz' sometimes it is tempting to look around and mentally prioritise government spending. A few points though. First of all this redevelopment is NOT a subsidy for big business, it is going to benefit all the struggling shopkeepers in the Flinders Street mall, which is basically a dead zone at the moment. It is also targetted at controlling the anti-social behaviour which is rife in this area. To address the concerns you have about regional health, concerns which I assure you are formost upon my mind, I must first point out that federal funding is not the key issue. After an incident involving my grandfather at Cairns Base hospital earlier this year i met with my local state member, and even he admitted that money was not the problem, although failed to agree that it was his government's appalling management. The biggest hurdle to regional heath (I am speaking for QLD here but I am sure the issues facing the rest of Australia are very similar) is the city-centralised managements of our health systems. I might take this opportunity to point out that that the man in charge of removing our 59 successful hospital boards, and replacing it with 13 Brisbane based bureaucracies, was in fact Wayne Goss' chief civil servant, one Mr Kevin Rudd, as part of his slash and burn cost cutting og QLD services. To properly address the regional health crisis we need less talk of dollars, and more talk of management, Rudd's centralisaton has failed in fatal ways in QLD, why would it work to take it even farther? 
As for spending money on vital infrastructure, this is important for local communities, for citizens, for small businesses, and for the very reputation and standing of our towns.

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