Labor has no credibility when it comes to health and only feign interest in the portfolio for the sake of cheap political point scoring.
The facts are simple. When Labor was last in government they cut health funding by $500 million and sacked a nurse a day for nine months.
Tasmanians have not forgotten that Labor leader Rebecca White ran away from the health portfolio immediately after the election.
Nor have they forgotten their bungled Royal Hobart Hospital Redevelopment, and the fact Ms White was forced out of embarrassment to rule out the return of former failed Health Minister, Michele O’Byrne, to the portfolio during the recent election campaign.
The Hodgman Liberal Government’s record investments in health have resulted in shorter waiting times for elective surgery and we have opened more beds to help take pressure off our emergency departments.
We are delivering the single biggest boost to health care in Tasmania’s history – a $757 million health package over six years, to treat more Tasmanians sooner.
This includes 298 new hospital beds – an increase of more than 20 per cent. It will be supported by an additional 1,332 new staff and will result in 30,000 more Tasmanians getting treatment in our hospitals each year, within six years.
It includes an expected 802 more nurses, 158 more doctors, 128 more allied health professionals and 182 more operational and administrative support staff to care for Tasmanians at hospitals across the State.
Labor’s six year election policy was $200 million less than the Government’s and was such a disaster that last month they refused to back it in as part of an alternative budget. In fact, they had no alternative budget such is their economic incompetence.
While Labor chooses to rubbish our hospitals and extremely hardworking heath staff, the Government will continue to work constructively to support them and reduce demand pressure.
Tasmanians won’t be fooled by a Party whose only policy is whingeing and whose only platform is complaining.