Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington says the Labor Government’s Minister for Health, Steven Miles, has refused to answer questions about the continued and lengthy delays for the reimbursement of Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme (PTSS) for people in the South Burnett.
Mrs Frecklington said the answer to her Question on Notice* asking why these unacceptable delays keep occurring has fallen on deaf ears.
“The answer from the Minister for Health is simply unacceptable, and actually quite insulting for my community,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“I have been trying to get answers on this issue for nearly a year now, but this out of touch Minister clearly has no regard for the South Burnett and the frustration this is causing people who are waiting too long for their Patient Travel Subsidy reimbursement.
“He hasn’t addressed three out of my five questions, in particular, why patients continue to experience these lengthy delays, and the current wait times to receive a reimbursement.
“In fact, the Minister should be apologising for this debacle, and committing to provide a better service and in the future.
“South Burnett locals ring my office every day to ask why their PTSS are taking so long to be reimbursed. Some have waited up to six months for their payments and this is just simply unacceptable.
“This Labor Government is too busy wasting taxpayers money on renaming hospitals in Brisbane.
“I don’t think the Minister understands that this is not a choice for people from the South Burnett. People must travel at least two hours to see a specialist or undergo surgery, as most specialist services are not available at the Kingaroy Public Hospital.
“The Minister has an obvious disregard for how important these payments are, and how the delay in receiving this reimbursement seriously affects the most vulnerable members of the community, many of whom are pensioners and are undergoing treatment for cancers and other serious conditions.
Question on Notice Response No. 1517 re: Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme
LNP Leader and Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington says news that roadworks on the Brisbane Valley Highway are being delayed until 2019 shows that yet again the Somerset has been put on the bottom of the list by the Labor Government.
Mrs Frecklington said that to make matters works, Labor’s Member for Ipswich West, Jim Madden, had taken out paid advertisements to spread the bad news.
“Residents of the Somerset have been waiting on road upgrades for the Brisbane Valley Highway for years and finally we were supposed to see these take place this month,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“Now we have a State Labor MP, Jim Madden from Ipswich West doing Labor’s dirty work and using taxpayers money to advertise the fact that the roadworks are now delayed until 2019.
“The works we had been waiting on are supposed to address the high crash rate along the Brisbane Valley Highway, and now residents and visitors will have to put up with this second rate highway over the Christmas break, the busiest time of the year.
Member for Lockyer, Jim McDonald said the Brisbane Valley Highway needs to be built to a highway standard, with intersections upgraded and the road safe for all motorists.
Sadly, this year we have seen a number of serious and fatal accidents along the Brisbane Valley Highway,” Mr McDonald said.
“The local community has been calling for these upgrades for a long-time and it is time their concerns are finally listened to.
“As a former police officer, I understand how dangerous this stretch of road can be and how desperately needed these upgrades are,” Mr McDonald said.
“Pedestrians need to feel safe to cross the road and parents should have confidence that their children will be safe when crossing the road.
“My local community has been raising concerns about the highway for a long time and it is the number one issue for the Fernvale community.”
Photo: Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington, Member for Lockyer, Jim McDonald and Somerset residents, Darren Zanow, Zola Day and Jill Godfrey who support the need for urgent upgrades on the Brisbane Valley Highway.
Queensland Agricultural Training Colleges in Emerald and Longreach are yet again fighting for survival with the secret Coaldrake Review now before Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Cabinet.
The worst fears of Queensland’s agriculture sector, as well as the local Emerald and Longreach communities, grew when Labor’s Agriculture Minister Mark Furner refused to rule out closing the colleges when questioned by the Liberal National Party in Parliament last week*.
Shadow Minister for Agriculture Tony Perrett described the lack of clarity from the Minister as a ‘disgrace’ and another ‘kick in the guts’ from an anti-farming Labor Government.
“Labor has never wanted our ag colleges to succeed and it’s failed to help them adapt to the agricultural sector’s changing needs,” said Mr Perrett.
“It is an absolute disgrace that Labor has deliberately run the colleges into the ground so they can justify their eventual closure.
“Labor has form in closing Queensland Agricultural Training Colleges, having previously closed the Dalby and Burdekin campuses.
“It’s in Labor’s DNA to allow our once proud regional institutions fall into disrepair.
“Why is this Labor government so obsessed with hurting agriculture and our regions with its persistent anti-farming agenda?
“Any move to shut down the colleges would be incredibly concerning considering Labor has also just axed the School to Industry Partnership Program.”
LNP Member for Gregory Lachlan Millar said any move to shut down the colleges would be devastating for Emerald and Longreach.
“It’s hard to articulate just how important these agricultural colleges are to the sector as well as to the identity and economy of both Emerald and Longreach,” said Mr Millar.
“Any move to close the colleges would be further proof that Labor does not rule for the regions and would once again put Brisbane ahead of the bush.
“While it is common knowledge that Queensland Agricultural Training Colleges are not what they once were, the LNP firmly believes that can be reversed with funding and political support.
“The LNP supports the rebuilding of the colleges to bring them into line with community and industry expectations, rather than any move towards closures.
“Our local communities will fight any move by Annastacia Palaszczuk to axe our agriculture colleges”.
*Hansard, p3601: https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/hansard/2018/2018_11_15_DAILY.pdf
There are many State Government managed roads around the South Burnett which need urgent upgrades. I know that many local residents would agree with me that one of the most desperate is the Maidenwell-Bunya Mountains Road.
The Maidenwell-Bunya Mountains Road is the main connector to the popular Bunya Mountains, yet it remains a dangerous road. I have been fighting to have this road fixed for many years and we are finally seeing a small amount of funding assigned to clearing the sides of the roads and the installation of some signage. These works are schedule to start soon and will be undertaken in two locations, the first 750m stretch at approximately 2.5 kilometres west of Maidenwell and the second one kilometre stretch 12 kilometres west of Maidenwell
But this is nowhere near enough to make this road safe. There is a lengthy unsealed section, dangerous corners and near misses on this road each and every day.
I understand the importance roads like the Maidenwell-Bunya Mountains Road, but this city-centric Palaszczuk Labor Government wouldn’t even know it exists. That’s why regional Queenslanders continue to suffer from a lack of new infrastructure projects and investment in regional roads.
I will continue to fight for our fair share of funding and to improve the lives of our hard-working regional families.
Deb Frecklington
Member for Nanango
Tomorrow more than 25 child safety worksites will go on strike across the state, throwing Queensland’s child protection system into chaos.
The Palaszczuk Labor Government has failed to complete negotiations with the Together Union on child safety worker wages, and now children will be put at risk as a result.
LNP Shadow Minister for Shadow Minister for Child Safety Stephen Bennett has slammed the Palaszczuk Labor Government for putting children at risk.
“Child safety and youth justice workers have had enough of the crisis in these two departments under Labor,” Mr Bennett said.
“In terms of child safety, we are seeing record notifications and increasing cases of harm that are returning to the pre-Carmody Inquiry days.
“Our youth justice system has been in crisis management since day one, with ongoing riots, assaults on staff, a failed bail house experiment and youth detention centres packed in like sardines.
“This is just the latest example that the Palaszczuk Labor Government is putting Queensland’s children in harm’s way.”
Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington, has officially presented Gloria Fleming of Nanango with a special certificate for achieving 40 years as a Justice of the Peace.
Mrs Frecklington presented the award to Mrs Fleming to recognise the milestone and the many years of service she has volunteered in her JP role.
“I think it is so important that we recognise local JP’s, like Gloria, who dedicate so much of their time to supporting members of the community when they need help with documents, at often those very important moments of their life,” she said.
“JP’s are the quiet achievers, whose role often goes unnoticed, but we all rely on them for guidance and assistance throughout our life.
“I’d like to congratulate Gloria on achieving this milestone and thank her for her continuing service to our community,” Deb said.
Photo: Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington, presented Gloria Fleming with a certificate for 40 years of service as a JP.
Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington, has presented a special piece of sporting memorabilia to Kingaroy State High School today.
Mrs Frecklington presented a signed and framed Australian swimsuit uniform worn by homegrown sporting hero, Taliqua Clancy.
“This is a fantastic piece of memorabilia was recently donated by Taliqua’s grandparents, Jocelyn and Robert Clancy to the South Burnett Lifeflight fundraising dinner in Kingaroy,” Mrs Frecklington.
“I took the opportunity to purchase it on behalf of the community and this morning I presented it to Kingaroy State High School, and Taliqua’s grandfather Robert, to be hung in the school’s sporting gallery.
“It is so important we recognise and support our homegrown sportsmen and women and the results they are achieving on the international stage.
“Taliqua is a Kingaroy girl who is doing remarkable things in the sport of beach volleyball. She is the first indigenous women to represent Australia in the sport of beach volleyball. She made the quarter-finals at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the grand-finals at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
“We all can’t wait to see her at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo!” Deb said.
“This piece of memorabilia will now be on display at the Kingaroy SHS so our students can continue to be inspired by Taliqua’s accomplishments,” she said.
Photo: Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington, has presented a signed Taliqua Clancy Australian swimsuit uniform to Kingaroy State High School. The memorabilia was presented to KSHS students Steven Wheeler and Amy-Louise Kempton and Taliqua’s grandfather, Robert Clancy.
