Just a year into its first term, the Minns Labor Government in NSW has slashed a whopping $249 million from the palliative care budget.

Following the passage of euthanasia and assisted suicide legislation in NSW, the then- Perrottet government announced a $650 million increase in palliative care funding.

The 2023-2024 budget from the Labor government has reduced this to $401 million, a 38% decrease in the funds available to palliative care.

The impact of these cuts on real lives were summarised by The Catholic Weekly:

“Hunter New England health district and South Western Sydney are the worst affected, losing more than 40 per cent of their original funding promised in 2022.

Northern Sydney and South Eastern Sydney will receive 39 per cent less funding than originally promised and the Central Coast, Illawarra Shoalhaven, Northern NSW and Sydney local health districts will receive 36 per cent less funding.

Paediatric palliative care at the Sydney Childrens’ and John Hunter Children’s hospitals will receive half of the funding originally allocated by the Perrottet government in its last budget.”

Susan Carter MLC is supporting a parliamentary petition to have the funding restored. Please sign the petition here.

Bizarrely, the NSW Government issued a media release this week, purporting to congratulate itself for “doubling the investment in palliative care in Western Sydney Local Health District by next financial year from $1.36 million per annum  in 2022-23 to $2.6 million in 2024-25.”

Amidst a slashing of $249 million of funding, celebrating the re-insertion of $1.3 million appears to be an exercise in misdirection and disingenuity.

Send a message to the Minns Labor Government that this isn’t good enough. Please sign the petition today.