The Rockliff Government must stop playing games and properly recognise Tasmania’s health investment needs in the State Budget.
The government has spent $1.2 billion* more than they have budgeted for the Department of Health in just the last three years. Their own reports show much of this is due to costs like locums and agency staff.
This ‘overspend’ doesn’t mean we need health cuts – far from it. It means the government should fix their approach to health by putting in the money the system needs up front, in the State Budget.
The Liberals’ current approach is all about fudging the numbers to get a better Budget Day headline. And this political trick is adding to the major challenges facing the health system.
How can our hospitals, clinics, and ambulance services effectively plan and deliver services when they’re being lumped with a reduced up front budget? To get the best bang for buck we need to see the money committed at the beginning of the year.
The Greens strongly believe the government should scrap the stadium and make big corporations pay their fair share so we can see a proper increase in health funding. But at the bare minimum they should fix their approach to the health budget to make sure the funding goes as far as possible.
*$345 million in 2024-25 per Revised Estimates Report. $472 million in 2023-24 and $396 million in 2022-23 per DOH annual reports.
