To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of undersigned citizens of Australia respectfully showeth:

1. That the Federal Government's shifting of responsibility for funding of public hospitals onto the State Governments has placed a disproportionate and onerous burden onto lower income groups, but particularly on large families; single income families; the chronically ill; those with recurrent illnesses and those on fixed incomes.

2. That included in the undesirable effects on the public hospital system in Queensland will be:

(i) long waiting times for non-urgent surgery

(ii) long waiting periods in out-patients

(iii) services, e.g. x-ray and pathology, will be reduced

(iv) staff will be reduced

(v) possible abolition of teaching hospitals and centralisation of training facilities for doctors and nurses

(vi) closing down of small country hospitals

Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that the House of Representatives will request the Government to re-examine its public hospital funding arrangements, the impact of these arrangements on lower income groups mentioned in 1. above and increase funding to the States to ensure that the undesirable effects mentioned in 2. above do not occur.

And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray.