On Monday this week the Rockhampton community gathered to celebrate the opening of the Fitzroy Community Hospice, an 11-bed facility that will provide quality palliative care for Central Queensland residents and their families.

Labor was very keen to take credit for the hospice, jumping on the bandwagon to announce it – and demanding that no-one else speak at the official opening. This very specifically included One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson, despite the fact it was Pauline who interceded with the former Morrison Coalition Government in 2021 to secure $8 million for the Rockhampton community to build the hospice.

Fortunately, the Rockhampton community didn’t see it Labor’s way and Pauline was invited to the opening of the only hospice in Queensland north of the Sunshine Coast.

“I met Steve and Debbie Richards (Fitzroy Community Hospice board members) in 2021 at Beef Week in Rockhampton, where they were collecting signatures on a petition supporting the Fitzroy Community Hospice,” Pauline said. “They explained to me they were running out of time, because the site they’d secured could go to another developer.

“I then had a meeting with Morrison government Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who agreed to provide $8 million in funding for the project. Nothing is more rewarding than knowing you’ve had a hand in vital community projects like this one but full credit goes to the Rockhampton community which fought hard for the hospice and raised a lot of additional money to cover the project’s cost increases.

“End-of-life care close to home and family is important, and the success of this project demonstrates what can be achieved for regional communities when we work together.”