Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk signals consultation happened on the controversial decision to temporarily relocate the helipad at Mackay Base Hospital to the airport.
Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm has fired up about the issue during question time, a day after Mackay Regional Council Mayor (and Ms Camm’s former colleague) Greg Williamson erupted over the move.
The Mackay Base Hospital helipad is located at the back of the facility just metres away from an entrance.
But while the hospital is being redeveloped the helipad is being moved to the airport, which in Mackay terms is basically across town.
This is a significant change in distances that need to be travelled from the helipad to the hospital.
Parliament live: Annastacia Palaszczuk slams Anthony Albanese over infrastructure cash cut
The Premier has hit out at Anthony Albanese over infrastructure funding cuts, calling on the PM to "do what is right". QUESTION TIME BLOG
Annastacia Palaszczuk has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to "do the right thing" as the Premier went on the offensive over cuts to infrastructure funding.
Follow the live blog below
Updates
Mackay helipad move controversy questioned
Transport Minister again quizzed on supposedly rogue speed camera
The Katter’s Australian Party have again pushed the Transport Minister over a supposedly rogue regional speed camera, asking Mark Bailey to provide “physical evidence” the device has been tested for accuracy.
KAP’s Shane Knuth has once again raised the issue, saying a particular unmanned camera outside the North Queensland rural town of Malanda had stung 360 people with more than 590 infringement notices at a cost of $300,000.
The crossbench MP has repeatedly flagged the particular device, calling for the government to insure its accuracy.
But Transport Minister Mark Bailey again shut the concerns down, saying “my advice from the department is that when we put in the speed cameras they are carefully calibrated”.
“I have no evidence provided to me by any person to suggest that hasn't been the case,” he said.
“Simply saying that people have been fined and therefore there's something wrong with the camera is not an evidence-based submission to me.”
Mr Bailey urged the KAP member to support road safety messages in the community.
“Last year we had the worst year in 30 years in terms of the number of lives lost,” the Transport Minister said.
“I understand some people have been caught speeding and have attracted the fine, that's fine – they need to learn the lesson that speeding is not acceptable on our roads.”
No word if secret polling will be released in Cabinet documents
Opposition state development spokesman Andrew Powell has asked Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk whether the "secret sentiment polling" considered by Cabinet would be released in line with the Coaldrake review and the Premier's promise to release all documents within 30 days.
"As the member is aware we're processing a number of reforms – Cabinet documents will be released from the first quarter of next year," she said.
Premier avoids Israel-Palestine conflict wedge
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has avoided being wedged on the conflict between Israel and Palestine, with the question ruled out of order because the state lacks jurisdiction over foreign affairs.
Greens MP Michael Berkman noted 11,000 Palestinians—including women and children—had died in the conflict with Israel since it began in October.
He asked Ms Palaszczuk if she would join the chorus of voices calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Why is the Premier secretly polling Queenslanders?
Opposition Integrity spokeswoman Fiona Simpson asked why Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was spending almost $400,000 polling Queenslanders about their views.
"That is not uncommon," Ms Palaszczuk said.
The Premier hit back at Ms Simpson, who was speaker when Premier Campbell Newman spent $70m on advertising and scoping his Strong Choices asset privatisation policy.
"It's not the $70m your government committed to Strong Choices," she said.
It prompted the LNP, including MP Laura Gerber, to shout across the chamber "publish the polling, Premier".
Fears time poor clinicians to be impacted by admin cuts
Clinicians are concerned cuts to administrative manpower at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital and the smaller Nambour Hospital offshoot will mean increased workloads on already time strapped staff.
Documents obtained by the Opposition, and seen by the Courier-Mail, show the plan is reduce the administrative manpower at the two hospitals by a total of 21.06 full-time employee equivalents.
No full time staff won’t lose their jobs the documents show, but those on part-time and casual rosters will be impacted through reduced hours.
The plan is to centralise administration staff after hours.
According to the documents a review of administration services within the inpatient units for the Sunshine Coast HHS had not been undertaken since SCUH opened in 2017 and it was identified a review of those hours would be done to ensure it’s fit for purpose.
The new structure is expected to be implemented in a staggered fashion from April 2023.
Opposition: Whistleblower claims 21 hospital roles slashed without notice
The government has been accused of slashing 21 administrative roles at the Sunshine Coast hospital without notice, the state Opposition has claimed.
Deputy Opposition Leader Jarrod Bleijie said the Opposition had been contacted by a whistleblower who said the cut staff were given no warning and were simply told to access public counselling services about fears of not being able to pay mortgages.
Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said she wasn’t aware of the specific job cuts the Opposition had flagged, but lunged at the opportunity to speak of the Newman government’s cutting of public service jobs.
Yet another reminder that Campbell Newman’s LNP government was voted out in 2015.
Ms Fentiman said “we as the government absolutely value all of our public servants, particularly those that work in our hospitals and our health systems”.
Thousands access energy appliance rebate: Premier
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk revealed 1.6 million Queensland households had received the government's $550 cost of living electricity rebate and another 600,000 seniors and concession card holders were receiving $1070.
Ms Palaszczuk said about 38,000 Queenslanders had received a climate smart energy savings rebate for energy-efficient appliances.
"I urge every Queenslander, there's probably only about two weeks left in that program, so please make sure that you are out there purchasing your energy efficient appliances," she said.
Fentiman grilled on fungus timeline
Health Minister Shannon Fentiman confirmed she had been informed of the fungal contamination at the Prince Charles Hospital transplant unit “just under two weeks ago”.
She said she was briefed on the matter over the weekend and had spoken to the media about the issue later that week (on November 2).
According to Ms Fentiman around the time of the briefing she was advised families of patients were being advised of the outbreak, and then the news story broke (on the evening of November 1 on 7 News)
Transplant operations paused, no adverse outcomes
Opposition education spokesman Christian Rowan asked Health Minister Shannon Fentiman if cardiac transplant operations continued at the Prince Charles Hospital, knowing there was a possible fungal outbreak.
Ms Fentiman said the transplant unit operations were was paused while they investigated the issue and there were no adverse patient outcomes.
Revealed: Six-figure sum to rename ‘satellite hospitals’
Satellite Hospitals will be renamed “Satellite Health Centres” under a state government decision aimed at erasing confusion about the facilities, but the move comes with a hefty taxpayer-funded price tag.
Read more
These are the Qld towns you don’t want to give birth in
Confronting staffing figures show eight Queensland maternity facilities have experienced a desperate shortage of obstetricians, anaesthetists and midwives.
Read more