‘Shakedown politics’: PM says Qld ‘showered with cash’

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says Queensland is preparing for the Delta variant to spread “life wildfire” through the country, but PM Scott Morrison is resisted calls for extra funding to help the state’s overworked hospital system to cope.

Queensland needs more Commonwealth cash to make sure its hospitals can cope when Delta spreads “like wildfire” through the country, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison has accused the state of “shakedown politics”, saying they’ve already been “showered with cash”.

Ms Palaszczuk said authorities were preparing for “unprecedented” hospital demand and that what had happened across the world was about to happen here.

“When delta comes in, it will spread like wildfire,” she said.

“We’re already seeing increased surges in NSW hospitals and increased surges in Victorian hospitals.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says Queensland has joined other states in requesting more money for the state’s hospital system to cope with Delta. Picture: Getty

“So the hospitals need to have the capacity and that requires additional funding coming from the federal government to support the growth in numbers that we will see.”

Ms Palaszczuk said until health planning was done and people were vaccinated “it would be irresponsible to put the whole country at risk and I’m not going to put Queenslanders at risk”.

The comments follow a letter signed by all health ministers to federal Health Minister Greg Hunt asking for extra funding.

They also come as Queensland continues to overspend on what its funded for, with the average cost per weighted activity unit $215 more than the target, according to its annual report.

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA NewsWire Photos OCTOBER, 01 2021: Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke to the media at a press conference at The Lodge in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Mr Morrison said the federal government had increased hospital funding by more than 70 per cent in its term and the states had raised it by just 40 per cent.

He said running the public hospitals was a state responsibility and they had 18 months to prepare for a surge in cases.

“There's a lot of talk about what the responsibilities of the states are. I can tell you what one of them is, run the public hospital and get them ready for any surge in demand that will come,” Mr Morrison said.

“There have been a lot of opportunities to prepare for this.

“But I don’t think the pandemic should be used as an excuse for shakedown politics.

“They just need to get on with the job, get the hospitals ready.

He said the Commonwealth had “showered the states with cash” when it came to the health system, economic support, through JobKeeper and with disaster support payments.