Sydney teens wins fight to reduce hospital parking fees
Sick patients and their carers will be spared as much as $200 per week in long-term parking fees, after a Sydney teenager took his fight to the Premier.
Gidon Goodman petitioned for a change after his family spent more than $10,000 on hospital parking fees due to the 14-year-old’s rare blood condition.
Six months ago, Gidon took his petition with 70,000 signatures to the former Health Minister, and on Monday Premier Gladys Berejiklian praised the teen for his efforts.
“Sometimes governments do need a nudge from members of the community,” she said.
“You’ll find some families will be saving hundreds and hundreds of dollars each month.”
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Under the new plan, parking fees at all Sydney public hospitals will be cheaper for regular patients and visitors.
Families at the Sydney Children’s Hospital will only pay $21.20, instead of the current $196 per week, while those at St George Hospital will see the $231 parking fee reduced by more than 90 per cent.
Gidon said the state-wide concessions would make all the difference for families like his, which spend a lot of time in hospital.
“There were people who were going as much as us, paying as much as us, who couldn’t pay it easily,” Gidon said.
“They shouldn’t be worrying about hospital parking.
“They should be worrying about their path to recovery.”
The tough part for the Premier will be to negotiate existing contracts with private carpark operators, who are set to lose millions of dollars from July 1 when the new concessions are put in place.
Newsbreak – March 21
