Posted on March 10, 2010
Isobel Redmond, Leader of the Opposition this morning flew to Canberra to deliver a strong message from South Australians about the Commonwealth’s radical proposal to takeover health services in SA and the desperate plight of the River Murray.
“I want to get evidence and information from the bureaucrats and the government about its proposed takeover of the SA health system,” Ms Redmond said.
“Premier Mike Rann should have been seeking this information and asking questions before agreeing to the federal takeover of the SA Health system.
“Mike Rann agreed to this radical takeover on the basis of one telephone call from his ‘mate’ Kevin Rudd.
“Yet, his Labor colleague NSW Premier Kristina Keneally is standing up for the health needs of NSW, and demanding more detail on the proposal – Rann is acting like Rudd’s doormat.
“Ms Keneally has revealed that she had limited time to agree to the federal takeover before it was announced which casts serious doubt on Mike Rann’s excuse for rushing to accept Canberra’s radical health proposal.
“In The Australian newspaper on March 8 Kristina Keneally conceded “she only received the detail of the announcement on ‘the morning before it was announced’.”
“This exposes the deception of Mike Rann, who after agreeing to Rudd’s takeover on the strength of one phone call said this:
Conlon: “the biggest news yesterday politically was this massive change to the way health is funded and run nationally. You’ve come out in support of Rudd’s plan. Have you been involved in behind-the-scenes work?”
Rann: “Very, very much so. I’ve been talking to the Prime Minister for months on health reform.” (5AA March 4)
“On one hand, we have the NSW Premier honestly admitting that she had virtually no time to consider such a massive shake-up of health with profound implications for the people of NSW yet on the other hand Mike Rann saying he had months to consider this – who do you trust?
“Mike Rann needs to explain why he has agreed so quickly to such a complex proposal, when other Premiers continue to hold grave concerns and are demanding answers.
“The Premier has explicitly sought no briefings on the implications of the federal takeover
“Mike Rann has given up on water security for SA it now appears he has given up on the health interests of South Australians”.