QUESTIONS are being raised over the motives behind the Federal Government's decision to issue a $120,000 grant to keep an aged care facility (ACF) in regional Victoria, and associated health services, including a pharmacy, open, with Australian Labor Party Senator, Kimberley Kitching, suggesting it may have been made in the interests of politics than health care.
Speaking in the Senate on Thu, Kitching questioned whether the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, had used taxpayer money to "buy a vote inside the Nationals party room to prop up his preferred Nationals leader", in the recent spill, which saw Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, retain his position as party leader.
Kitching suggested the $120,000 grant may have been used to secure the vote of Nationals MP, Damien Drum, by shoring up health services in his constituency.
However, Liberal Senator, Richard Colbeck, denied the implication that the funding, which came on top of $400,000 the Government had previously allocated for the Murchison Community Care facility, which went into liquidation late last year (PD 14 Feb).
"The concern of the government is for the people in the community of Murchison and to ensure that they continue to receive the services that are important to them," he said.
"As I've indicated, the aged-care facility was supporting a doctors surgery, a pharmacy and a community house.
"The concern for the Government is to ensure that the community of Murchison has the capacity to retain those facilities, if we can assist them to do it."
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