A Shorten Labor Government will invest $1.5 million to improve palliative cancer care at Ipswich Hospice Care, ensuring locals can get the best possible care at the end of their lives.

This election is a choice between Labor’s plan for better hospitals or bigger tax loopholes for the top end of town under the LNP.

This important upgrade will be funded as part of Labor’s $2.3 billion Medicare Cancer Plan, the most significant reform to Medicare since its introduction by the Hawke Labor Government.

The funding boost will allow Ipswich Hospice Care to extend its palliative care services to the community, including respite care for patients with late stage cancer and their families.

The redevelopment will expand the current hospice from seven to 10 beds to deal with the predicted increase in population in the Ipswich region and to refurbish the existing inpatient rooms.

The expanded 10 bed facility will provide a high quality service to meet the needs of patients in the West Moreton community who have been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Labor is committed to improving palliative care across the country to ensure all Australians are afforded the comfort, dignity and privacy they need in their final days.

This investment is part of our Medicare Cancer Plan, and will improve care and dramatically slash out-of-pocket costs for cancer patients. The package will provide millions of free scans, millions of free consultations, and cheaper medicine for cancer patients in Queensland and across Australia.

One in every two Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85, and it remains the greatest disease burden in Australia, with the highest out-of-pocket costs in our health system.

Labor will help the people of Blair access the health care they need, including properly funded palliative care.

We can afford this investment because we are closing unfair tax loopholes and making multinationals pay their fair share.
 
Only a Shorten Labor Government can be trusted to deliver the health services Australians need.
 
After six years of LNP cuts and chaos, our united Labor team is ready.