Because Labor and the LNP privatised the majority of the car parks at public hospitals, big corporations are making millions of dollars overcharging patients, staff and visitors, forcing some patients and their families to sleep in their cars.¹ The Greens will scrap hospital parking fees and make access to public healthcare genuinely free.

The Queensland Greens will

1. Introduce free hospital parking for patients and staff in all public hospitals across Queensland, including at the Brisbane Mater Hospital Precinct
2. Reverse Labor’s outsourcing of carparks to private operators and bring all car parks back into public hands - including bringing the Mater Hospital Precinct multi-storey car parks into public hands
3. Invest $500 million to build and upgrade new hospital car parks in areas of need 
    

Free Hospital Parking For Patients 

There are currently 13 Queensland public hospitals with paid onsite parking. Of those 13, only three are publicly run, with seven run by private corporations and three run by public hospital foundations. Parking fees can be as high as $40 per day at the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital. 

Every year Queenslanders spend $13 million on public hospital car parking - and that’s before you take into account the money taken by the private corporations running some of the major hospital carparks. Rather than forcing hospital patients and staff to make up the public health funding shortfall with parking fees, the Greens believe we should make big mining corporations pay their fair share in royalties to fund genuinely free, universal and world-class healthcare. 

The Greens will make hospital parking free for all patients and staff at every public hospital. Patients will be able to allocate their free parking to a friend or family member, with parking tickets validated by hospital reception. This would include anyone seeking treatment at a public hospital - including outpatients. 

The Greens will also buy back every carpark at a public hospital owned by a private corporation, reversing Labor’s privatisation of our public hospital assets. Every part of our public healthcare system should remain in public hands.  

Upgrading and building new hospital Car Parks  

With an increasing population and demand for healthcare services it’s clear our public hospitals will continue to require upgrades and expansions. Free hospital car parking for patients and staff will conceivably lead to an increase in demand for car parking. While the Greens strongly believe in taking cars off the road with free and reliable public transport, it’s also true that many hospital patients and their families have no viable alternative to travelling by car. 

The Greens will establish a $500 million fund to upgrade and expand public hospital parking in areas of need. The fund will be spread out over four years. 

Costing

The total cost of introducing free hospital parking for patients and staff in all public hospitals will be $323 million over four years, including $268 million to buy back the privatised carparks and $54 million covering lost revenue from hospital car parking. 

Our $500 million parking upgrade fund and $323 million for free hospital parking for patients will be covered by the Greens’ plan to raise royalties on mining corporations, which will raise $55 billion over four years.  

How much does hospital parking cost?

1 https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/families-sleep-in-cars-unable-to-fork-out-for-hospital-parking-20200108-p53ptw.html