Medical care in Howard's 'me first' Australia

"AUSTRALIA'S doctor shortage has reached crisis point, with three-quarters of the country's land area, and more than 12 million people, now deemed as lacking adequate access to primary care.------The latest available figures, from the end of March, reveal the federal Department of Health and Ageing has declared "districts of workforce shortage" over 74 per cent of Australia - or 59 per cent of the population.-------Mr Abbott said the figures were based on a "statistical construct" and while the shortages extended into suburban areas, there was evidence people could still see a GP if they were willing to wait a few hours."

The Australian article today:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22781101-5013871,00.html

 

Really, Mr. Abbott? I see you don't mention rural or regional Australia. Here on the NSW North Coast the wait to see a GP is often counted in days or weeks with a $50 pay upfront bill attached. While turning up at the local hospital emergency department is a bit of a lottery because many of these hospitals don't have full-time doctors, and if they do your wait for treatment can sometimes be a long as six or seven hours.

 

The Australian Constitution says that the buck stops with the Federal Government on health care. So why did you let matters come to this pass?  Ah, yes - you have always expected the poor and those living in the bush to take what's leftover after your 'me first' mates have had their medical needs met.

Campaign Day 36

Anybody else notice that John Howard has just promised to stop an additional 60,000 people on government pensions or benefits from purchasing any form of alcohol or tobacco.

No? Well don't say you weren't warned.

First it was the goories; now its people with a drug conviction; next it will be the unemployed; followed by the disabled, widowed, old soldiers and aged.

If re-elected John Howard wants to turn most of government payments into a form of voucher system with little cash in hand for any of us receiving money through Centrelink or Repat.

Apparently if you are poor then you can't be trusted with money and don't deserve a couple of beers and a fag on Saturday night.

However if you are swimming in lard like Howard, then you can spend your parliamentary salary or pensions as you please. Advance Australia Fair indeed!

What's a former PM worth?

Brisbane's Courier Mail http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22775928-953,00.html
reports that on top of a post-PM package of more than $300,000 a year, John Howard is expected to earn upwards of a million dollars from non-executive positions, international speaking tours and consultancy work.

A few quick calculations done on the back of a beer coaster reveal that during Howard's time at the helm, where he and Janette have lived off the public purse, he must have been able to stash away well in excess of $1.5 million as savings. Hence, he'll head off in to the sunset very well heeled . And, remember, in addition to his pension that is tax-payer- funded he takes with him heaps of other lurks and perks. What a jerk!

That's quite a reward for wrecking the future of working families!

The scary side of Australian elections

Armagnac Esq. points to the stuff of nightmares.

 

"Last week's 4 Corners had interviews with several people in marginals, following their reactions to various announcements as we entered the campaign. The one who embodied the difficulties faced by social democratic parties more than any other was the woman with the godfrigginalmighty mcmansion.

There she was, with a huge behemoth behind her, or indoors with vast plasma TV and a thousand other spoils. I don't begrudge her this, beyond thinking there's no accounting for taste and moderation. But all she cared about was her pocket. Each promise to give her a handful more bucks caught her attention, to the point that she was coming across as a potential swinger. No wider issue even registered.

A swinging voter in a marginal; key election winning territory. And she, with all her needs and a busload of wants amply met, could not care less about any policy that impacts anyone except her.

She's a natural creature of the Right; singularly greedy and lacking empathy. Yet in a marginal dictatorship she's all that counts, politically speaking.

She's undecided. They're undecided. I hope I'm wrong and he slams it through next weekend. I do give Kev odds-on, but only just. The champagne's corked and stashed. It ain't over 'till the CUB lady sings."

 

http://armagnacd.blogspot.com/2007/11/keep-champagne-corked-marginal.html