Is it any surprise further ructions within the Tasmanian Labor party have surfaced today - now between its state secretary and new leader.
In a Q&A with state secretary Stuart Benson, published today**, he is at odds with the party’s new leader Rebecca White on health.
The opposition health spokeswoman has said quite clearly on the record, that she was supportive of the Liberal Government’s One Health System improvements – which includes maternity services on the North West coast based on very strong medical advice.
She has gone further to say that “the changes Labor proposed in Government are very similar to what this Minister’s now trying to implement with his White Paper”.
However Mr Benson clearly said the party would ``revisit’’ reforms made under our Government – reversing important changes including those they themselves believed in but utterly failed to deliver.
These important changes are delivering, better, safer services on the North West, including making the Mersey a Dedicated Elective Surgery Centre, building better, safer, integrated Birthing Service in Burnie, expanding antenatal and postnatal care at the Mersey, Burnie and across the region, and funding and opening the North West Cancer Centre.
Very importantly, we have made changes that have improved the safety of services, as supported by the clinical workforce and the AMA, and have reduced waiting times and the need to travel.
Will Ms White come out and categorically rule out unwinding our health improvements or will she try to go back to her party's broken system?
If the relatively new state secretary and the new leader can’t even agree on such important policy which is about saving lives – what hope would they have of trying to lead Tasmania?
As we’ve seen this week, the Hodgman Government is continuing to clean up the mess left by the Labor-Greens Government in disability care – a mess 16-years in the making.
**Published in The Advocate, 24/3/17 pg10