Wally:
Your comment:
Seems like the landscape has changed & fantastic the WA section are leading the way......dunno where the $$$ are coming from but hey as they say.................
I just had a quick read of the annual report for the RFDS for the financial year ending 30 June 2013, and I'll tell you where the $$$ are coming from - from the Australian taxpayer, mainly.
From the annual report for the entire RFDS:
Where our funding comes from - Australian Government, 25%; State & Territory Governments, 45%; Fundraising 17%; Other (eg private contracts) 13%.
The nett surplus was $1.6m, with cash (or cash equivalents) of $24.5m.
Receipts from the Commonwealth Government: $72m to 30 June 2013; and a further $69.7m to 30 June 2012.
And the majority of the work is inter-hospital transfers, or clinic runs. Medi-vacs come in third.
Yes, the RFDS do a sterling job on emergency medical evacuations, no question, but not sure why we need the latest shiniest jet to take a doctor and a couple of nurses to a remote location to check on ear infections, skin cancers, or scabies.