LABOR’S INVESTMENT PLAN FOR WA HOSPITALS

A Shorten Labor Government will invest millions of dollars in additional funding in West Australian hospitals, funding more beds and bringing down emergency department and elective surgery waiting times.

 

Malcolm Turnbull is already cutting $77 million from West Australian hospitals between 2017 and 2020, including about $44 million from hospitals across Perth and Fremantle.
 
 Royal Perth Hospital is suffering the biggest cut in the state: $7.8 million.

 

Now Turnbull is seeking to lock in even more savage cuts out to 2025.

 

We have pledged to reverse Turnbull’s 2019-2025 hospital cuts by establishing a national $2.8 billion Better Hospitals Fund – meaning we will deliver a record investment in the health of all Australians.

 This will restore the difference between the Liberals’ promise to fund 50 per cent of hospital cost growth and its actual policy of funding 45 per cent.

A Shorten Labor Government will use the fund to bring down emergency department and elective surgery wait times, and boost doctor, nurse and other hospital staff numbers – including with a significant investment in WA.
 
 Labor has already committed to delivering shorter emergency department wait times and better mental health treatment in Northern Perth by building a $154 million state-of-the-art, 75-bed mental health unit at the Joondalup Health Campus.

 

This commitment is part of our Fair Share for WA fund – a $1.6 billion investment in infrastructure and jobs projects for WA – and will come on top of our Better Hospitals Fund investment.

 

Labor is serious about ensuring that West Australians have the health care they need.

 

That’s in stark contrast to years of Liberal neglect.

 

Turnbull’s twisted priorities mean he cares more about giving big business an $80 billion tax cut than he does about properly funding hospitals in Western Australia.