Targeting: * The Hon. Tim Nicholls MP, Minister for Health and Ambulance Services

The Member for Mulgrave Mr Terry James 
The Under-Treasurer, Queensland Treasury
  

The Petition Statement
We, the 85,000 residents of Cairns South, Gordonvale, and the Mount Peter growth corridor, are being left behind in a life-or-death lottery. We demand the immediate funding of a 24/7 Emergency Department and Acute Care Campus in Edmonton.

Right now, if you live south of the Ray Jones Drive bottleneck, you are cut off from life-saving care. While the government pours millions into the CBD hospital, the fastest-growing region in North Queensland has zero emergency beds, zero birthing suites, and zero places for an ambulance to drop a patient.

We aren't just a suburb anymore; we are a city of 85,000 people. By the time the Mount Peter development is finished, we will be larger than Mackay or Rockhampton yet we are expected to rely on a single highway to reach a hospital that is already overflowing.

• Why this is a 10/10 Emergency:
  The "Golden Hour" is Being Lost: In a heart attack, stroke, or car accident, every minute counts. During peak hour, the 15km trip to the CBD can take over 45 minutes. That delay is the difference between life and death. * The Ramping Crisis: As of January 2026, Queensland’s ambulance ramping hit a record 47.8%. Our paramedics are stuck in the CBD because there is no "front door" for them in the South. We need a southern hub to get ambulances back on the road faster.
• The "Priority" Paradox: The State Government has declared Mount Peter a "Priority Development Area" for 42,000 new residents. You cannot build 18,000 new homes without building the hospital beds to support them.
• The "Clinic" is Not Enough: We are tired of being told the "Urgent Care Clinic" is the solution. A clinic cannot perform emergency surgery, it cannot deliver a baby, and it does not accept ambulances. We need a Category 1 Emergency Department.

Our 4 Critical Demands:

1. Save Mann’s Farm: Immediately protect and re-gazette the 21.5-hectare site on Mill Road, Edmonton, specifically for a Public Hospital before this vital land is lost forever.
2. A Real Emergency Department: Fund a 24/7 Category 1 Emergency Department in the 2026/27 Budget that is fully equipped to accept ambulances and stabilize trauma patients.
3. An Independent Safety Audit: We demand an immediate, independent study into the "risk to life" caused by Bruce Highway congestion and ambulance response times in the Southern Corridor.
4. Stop-Gap Safety: Until the hospital is built, immediately fund 24/7 emergency staffing at the Cairns South Health Precinct so it can at least accept and stabilize patients in a crisis.
    

• Why you should sign:
  If you are a parent worried about a child who stops breathing in the middle of a highway traffic jam.
• If you are a senior who deserves to know help is 5 minutes away, not 45.
• If you are a commuter who knows that one accident on the Bruce Highway cuts off 85,000 people from the city's only hospital.

We are not a "second priority." Our lives depend on care that is minutes away, not a highway trip away. Sign now to demand health equity for Cairns South!