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By Stan Thompson ADELAIDE — One thousand nurses held an angry march and rally on October 30 to protest against cuts to the health budget. In the last two years, the Liberal state government has cut $61 million dollars from the health budget which has resulted in the loss of more than 500 jobs, 200 beds and a reduction in admissions by 10,000. Health minister Armitage said the cuts were needed to compensate for wage increases. Gail Gago, the SA Australian Nurses Federation (ANF) branch secretary rejected this. "The only significant wage increase the minister has had to pay for is his own — around 25% over the past four and half years.". In the same period SA nurses have had no wage rises beyond the initial $8 safety net increase. Armitage has also cited the need to reduce the state debt, incurred by the collapse of the State Bank, as a further justification for the cuts. In response, Gago argued that "Nurses didn't create our state debt. We're not responsible and should not be made to feel guilty about wanting to do a decent job". Melanie Sjoberg, Democratic Socialist spokesperson on economics, described the cuts as savage and inhumane. "This is a clear example of the government putting profits before people. Health services are already well beyond breaking point. Waiting lists are growing at an alarming rates and this is compounded by the cuts to health resources. Consequently patients are far more ill by the time they are treated, which is resulting in much longer recovery times in hospital and even greater strain on the limited resources available." Meanwhile, the government is also pushing ahead with the privatisation of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH). To facilitate these budget cuts the government has introduced case-mix funding — the allocation of funds to services on the basis of the number of patients treated. This has prompted some to characterise elderly patients as "bed-blockers" due to their greater dependence on the health system. According to Sjoberg, while these policies are being introduced by a Liberal government, "We can't rely on the ALP either". "People forget that the ALP started the cuts long before the Liberals took power. We can no longer rely on either of the major parties. We need a grassroots-based, accountable political alternative."