![Picture](/uploads/8/4/1/7/8417532/2266926.jpg)
The LNP Minister for Health, Lawrence Springborg has announced that new Queensland Health funding agreements ensure that an organisation that receives at least half of its total funding from Queensland Health and other Queensland government agencies will be gagged, that is they “must not advocate for state or federal legislative change”.
Surely, in a democracy open and meaningful dialogue between all parties, in this case, the Government, the not for profit sector and the wider community would be the norm and strongly encouraged. Meaningful dialogue creates a space for innovation, continuous improvement and policy reform, without the ability to question policy and legislation there is a real risk of service stagnation, reduced innovation and limited policy reform. The people who use services will be directly affected by this action.
The Public Health Association of Australia acting chief executive Melanie Walker, last month defended the importance of advocacy, saying groups “working on the front line often do have insights about what changes can be made in government policy or legislation to assist the recipients of their services”.
The situation in Queensland is in stark contrast to the Labor Federal government’s move to introduce legislation to ban gag clauses in commonwealth contracts with the not-for-profit sector. However, this legislation will not have any effect on funding deals that the LNP Queensland government strikes with the not for profit sector.
Federal Social Inclusion Minister Mark Butler said the not-for-profit sector was a key partner in developing and delivering major policy reform and creating opportunities for all Australians.
“The past few weeks in Queensland have reminded us of the dark days of the last Coalition government, when John Howard attacked the rights and legitimate role of the Not For Profit sector and diminished its capacity to represent and advocate for its members,” he said in a statement.
This action begs the questions “What is Campbell Newman and his LNP government so afraid of”?
Here, at the Community Blog, we are interested in your thoughts. Please share them with us all.