Tuesday 14 May 2013

Nationals MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has his work ethic - or lack of it - questioned


                                                                                                                  

I finally got a copy of Page Federal MP Janelle Saffins letter of response from the NSW Health Department in relation to her representations on our behalf about the closure of the Haemotology Unit at Grafton Base hospital.

Ironically I suffered quite some flack in certain quarters for daring to question the work ethic of the State Member for Clarence's in particular the electorate office team that purports to work for all the electorate not just their preferred residents and business owners.

A copy of the State Members letter from the same NSW Health Department official details that they received representation from his office via a letter on the 7th of March and a telephone call from his office on the 12th of March. You'll note that Janelle's letter was received by the Health Department on the 24th of January, a good 6 weeks prior to Gulaptis'.

When I contacted the Gulaptis' electorate office in January to advise them of the situation with Haematology Unit the chap that answered the phone told me they had already been contacted by other constituents prior to Christmas about the problem.

Correct me if I am wrong but issues in relation to operational NSW Health matters are the purview of the state governments, and therefore the responsibility for these matters in our electorate are the responsibility of the State Member and his staff.

The situation wasn't some minor issue. The Haematology Unit is vital to the delivery of services to constituents and their families who suffer from bone/blood related cancers. Surely if the state members office was aware prior to Christmas they should made representations then, not three months later.

Our Federal MP realised the import of the situation to our community and made representations on our behalf even though this was an operational NSW Health matter and not in the purview of her responsibilities.

I've been criticised and even threatened because of willingness to openly discuss this issue and the fact that I consider I have the right to comment publicly on what appears to be the failure of our elected state representative and his staff to act in a timely manner for our best interests.

Apparently having the hide to openly discuss the service delivered by our representatives, who are paid to represent us - by us, isn't popular in some quarters. Those quarters are also using tax payer funded time to target people who have the hide to question them. Very curious ... and somewhat indicative of the issue at hand.

If you do your job properly you won't have to waste our money covering your ar*e.

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