Liberal Party member allocated nursing home beds on the Gold Coast

Labor’s Shadow Minister for Ageing and Disabilities, Senator Jan McLucas has called on the Minister for Ageing, Senator Santo Santoro, to explain his part in how a Liberal mate was able to obtain 94 bed licences for a block of land on the Gold Coast, while a fully completed dementia-specific facility in the next suburb got none at all – despite the area having the biggest shortage of beds in the state – at 416.

She was responding to stories in Brisbane’s Courier Mail newspaper quoting the recipient of the bed licences, Russell Egan Jnr, saying that securing 94 bed licences was a “massive asset to receive from taxpayers” and “I hit the jackpot with my block of land…keep in mind that these places can be sold on the free market for $40,000 each”.
Senator McLucas said Russell Egan was a Brisbane Liberal Branch chairman who was recently backed by Senator Santoro in a bid to become Queensland Liberal Vice President.

“Senator Santoro must explain his personal involvement in the allocation of these particular licences and his role in the bed licence allocation process,” Senator McLucas said.

“The Government stated that this year their priority was that licences should go to facilities that are ‘bed ready’ – that is places that are able to become operational straight away – and with a focus on dementia care. Yet here we have 94 bed licences allocated to a block of land just up the road from a 66-bed dementia-specific facility that is able to commence operating straight away.
“This is in an area, the South Coast Aged Care Planning Region, that has a 416 aged care bed shortage, the largest shortage in Queensland. It would make absolute sense to allocate bed licences to a facility that is able to commence operating straight away.