Ms ROSOL (Bass) – Honourable Speaker, I rise tonight to speak about the importance of public health services and the Greens’ growing concerns about the Rockliff government’s approach to funding health care in Tasmania.
I shouldn’t have to say it, but apparently I do need to remind some members in this place of this basic fact: access to health care is not only a basic need for Tasmanians, it’s a fundamental right. This basic fact goes right to the heart of why we have a public health system, because only with a strong public health system can we make sure everyone gets the health care they need when they need it.
The private sector will never do this. It doesn’t want to. It shuts out people who can’t pay, and it only delivers services where it can turn a profit. It should be uncontroversial for everyone here to agree with another basic principle that when it comes to public funds, public services should be the priority, not private ones.
But under the Liberals, we are seeing a move towards prioritising funding for private services while the public system continues to fall apart, and it’s having a range of consequences.
At a time when we are seeing public healthcare services struggling more than ever, they need all the funding they can get. When the government looks at a service in the public system that is starved of funding and chooses to invest in a private alternative instead, they often argue it is taking pressure off the public system.
There are obviously examples where the private healthcare system is carrying part of the load, and I’m not arguing that. However, when we prioritise funding for a private alternative over the public service, it doesn’t relieve pressure, it actually exacerbates the under-investment problem in the public system.
As the government prioritises the growth of private services over the strength of public ones, it also means it’s harder and harder for the people who are struggling the most to access those services, because many Tasmanians simply can’t afford private health insurance and can’t afford the fees charged by private providers.
Another area of concern is the reliance we seem to have built on the private system to provide services where it is only through private providers that you can access a particular type of care or treatment.
We’ve seen the risks of this reliance. Privately run facilities can just shut up shop with little notice, as happened with the St Helens mental health facility in Hobart, a situation that had wide-ranging consequences and left the state scrambling to establish the critical mother and baby unit back in the public system.
I’m concerned that we are increasingly seeing our public health system reliant on private providers; the more taxpayer money that goes into private health instead of public, the more that reliance will grow.
Another effect of the move to more funding for private over public is the patchwork effect it creates. Rather than taking a strategic view and looking at the best bang for our buck and how things work together in a holistic system, we are seeing a bits-and-pieces approach, a fracturing. Fracturing means more cracks in the system, more gaps for people to fall through, more inefficiency and worse outcomes.
I’m not sure how much the government’s approach has been driven by the so‑called small government ideology the Liberal Party is known for, or whether this has been more politically motivated. After all, it’s been awfully convenient for the Liberals to be able to make flashy announcements in election campaigns for private providers that are happy to sing their praises.
Regardless of motive, the effect is not good for the state or our public health system, a system that’s already struggling so much.
I want to finish by saying the Greens are founded on four principles: ecological sustainability; grassroots democracy; peace and non‑violence; and social justice. We know that health care is a critical social justice issue. That’s why we will continue to fight for this government to invest in strong public health services, services that all Tasmanians can access and rely on.
