As a Government, we realise all Tasmanians should have the opportunity to live their best lives for as long as possible in communities that support connections to people, place and culture.
For this to happen, we need to take effective action in preventive health to keep people healthy and well.
That’s why I’m pleased to launch the next Healthy Tasmania Five-Year Strategic Plan that brings together communities, services and all levels of government to work in partnership for improved health and wellbeing.
As part of this strategy, our focus is on actions that support Tasmanians to be more connected in their communities, have positive mental health and wellbeing, limit harmful alcohol use, be smoke free, eat well and live more active lives.
The Plan also includes a focus on climate change and health, acknowledging the impacts of climate change on health and wellbeing, and recognising the climate change goals of this Government.
Since its release in 2016, the Tasmanian Liberal Government has committed more than $14 million to the Healthy Tasmania plan.
As part of the new plan we have committed a further $10 million over five years to implement the next stage - including an additional $8 million over four years for the Healthy Tasmania Fund.
We know prevention of disease promotes physical and mental health and wellbeing, increases participation in the community, and is not only good for the individual but our whole State.
Under this Plan, we will have a particular focus on priority populations and health literacy.
Importantly, this Plan builds on the strengths and successes of the initial Healthy Tasmania Five-Year Strategic Plan for 2016-2021 in which we have seen some positive results.
These include more people becoming smoke free, increases in physical activity rates and fruit and vegetable intake, and a greater emphasis on mental health and wellbeing.
This demonstrates that our focus on working to ensure Tasmanians become healthier and more active under our Plan is working - But we know there is more work to be done.
That’s why under our new Plan, we are focused not only on seeing continued improvements in these areas, but also on the broader elements of wellbeing.
These include a renewed focus on mental health and wellbeing, eating well, reducing alcohol-related harm, and the impact of climate change on the health and wellbeing of communities.
Importantly, the Plan will focus on children and young people as we aim for intergenerational change to secure the health and wellbeing of Tasmanians into the future.
By focusing on priority populations and empowering communities by promoting health literacy, our Plan will help Tasmanians to take positive actions to improve their general health and wellbeing.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the development of the Plan and particularly to those in Public Health Services, despite the past year working through our response to COVID-19.
I look forward to the next five years of Healthy Tasmania, and the continued action and investment in preventive health that the Tasmanian Liberal Government is delivering on.
For more information, visit https://www.healthytasmania.tas.gov.au/e-news/healthy_tasmania_five-year_strategic_plan_2022-2026
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