Ms ROSOL question to MINISTER for HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH and WELLBEING, Mrs ARCHER
The deaths of two Tasmanians who couldn’t get an ambulance when they needed it were devastating. Unfortunately, these tragic situations are no surprise. Under this government, there’s been consistent deterioration of ambulance services. Each year Tasmanians are experiencing longer and more frequent delays in emergency situations: their lives are being put at increased risk. The government allows this, despite extensive evidence of clear solutions. The ramping inquiry has been largely ignored, and ambulance staffing is way below the recommendations of your own expert report. What’s truly disturbing, though, is the state budget’s plan to cut the ambulance budget from this year to next year. Ambulance services need much more investment, not less. Minister, will you rethink this approach? Will you review the budget and make sure the budget for ambulance services keeps going up each and every year?
ANSWER
Thank you very much, Speaker, and I thank the member for her question. I would like to reiterate the comments that I made at the beginning, extending my condolences to the families of the people that you’re talking about. I think it is very important to remember that we are talking about people and that we extend dignity, compassion and privacy to people in relation to these issues. I say that because there are active investigations underway into both of these matters, which you would expect, which is the appropriate process, and it is also the appropriate process to allow for that to be concluded before speculating or to draw conclusions in relation to that.
In relation to some of the other issues that you raised, of which there were quite a few: firstly, I would also like to say that I’m really proud of the team at Ambulance Tasmania and the dedicated ambulance officers and volunteers that work tirelessly in our communities every day. We are backing in Ambulance Tasmania through increased funding and resourcing. We invest $776.6 million for ambulance services, over three quarters of a billion dollars across this Budget. We’re investing into new ambulance stations. We’re continuing to recruit paramedics; as I’ve said, 75 new paramedics this year. We employ more ambulance officers for every 100,000 people than any other state; 80 FTE when the Australian average is 64.7.
By comparison, when we came to government, that was 49.7 FTE per 100,000 people, when we came to government in 2014. Despite a record increase in demand, and it goes to the point that I made earlier about demand. We’ve seen more than 7000 more calls in the 2025/26 year, but we see some 120,000 calls in a year to Ambulance Tasmania.
I would also say we have been committed to our Transfer of Care Protocol and that has now, since its introduction, saved nearly 40,000 hours of ramping at hospitals, meaning that those paramedics are back on the road for 40,000 more hours providing lifesaving care in the in the community.
We need ambulances to be kept for emergencies. That’s an important public campaign that we will continue to roll out. But people need to also have confidence that if they are in need of emergency care, they should call 000.
Supplementary Question
Ms ROSOL – Minister, everyone can see that the ambulance service isn’t meeting demand at the moment, and the numbers are clearly written in the State Budget in Budget Paper No. 2, pages 102 and 103. Funding for ambulance services goes down from this financial year to next. Spending for ambulance services goes down from this financial year to the next. That’s a cut. It’s in black and white. Minister, our question is simple: will you commit to ensuring the budget for ambulance services goes up every single year?
Mrs ARCHER – What I will commit to is what I’ve consistently committed to as I’ve stood here and answered questions over time in this year, which is that it is important that we have a sustainable budget. It is important where savings can be made, that they are made so that we can continue to invest them in the frontline services that Tasmanians need. We need – and I’ve said this before – we need every single dollar that we are able to have to go into those essential frontline services that Tasmanians need.
Ms Rosol – Then guarantee the funding goes on.
The SPEAKER – Order, honourable member for Bass.
Mrs Archer – That means that we have to find efficiencies and savings where it is appropriate to do so. For example, if –
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER – Order. The honourable minister is answering. I ask that she be heard, please. Honourable minister.
Mrs Archer – $54 million saved in locum and agency costs that have then been able to be –
Ms Rosol – Ambulance funding has been cut.
The SPEAKER – Honourable member for Bass.
Mrs Archer – recruiting permanent staff.
