Weatherill’s hospital car park sham exposed

Martin Hamilton-Smith MP

Shadow Minister for Health & Ageing
Shadow Minister for Mental Health
Shadow Minister for Substance Abuse

Weatherill’s hospital car park sham exposed

Premier Weatherill’s pretence that he somehow reversed Mike Rann’s car parking impost on patients, families and health workers has been exposed by today’s court decision to require health workers to pay to park at their own work place.

“Jay Weatherill pretended to reverse the decision and received favourable media coverage when all he had really done is stick with the car parking charges,” Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing Martin Hamilton-Smith said.

“A two hour window won’t help nurses and doctors, cleaners and administrative staff at our hospitals working long shifts day and night. Health workers will now have to pay to go to work without a commensurate pay or allowance increase.

“How many parking fines will now be administered to hospital workers?

“The recent Mid-Year Budget Review (MYBR) provided $7.6 million for the purchase, installation and operation of car park taxation machines. In each year that follows, the Weatherill government will spend over $1 million operating the revenue-making machinery.

“The bottom line is Labor has set up revenue-raising machines in our open air car parks at the Modbury Hospital, Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Noarlunga Hospital, Lyell McEwen Hospital and the General Repatriation Hospital.

“The Industrial Court’s decision today is disappointing to public sector workers, but the real cause of this has been the Weatherill Labor Government’s new tax on hospital car parks.

“It is revenue-raising on the back of the frail, the ill and the elderly along with their families and the staff who work for them,” Mr Hamilton-Smith said.