For the Premier’s speech delivering the 2020 Budget, see here. For the summary/breakdown sheets, see here.
Media release – David O’Byrne MP, Shadow Treasurer, 12 November 2020
Gutwein’s visionless Budget fails to meet historic moment
The most important State Budget since World War II has delivered no vision for the State in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shadow Treasurer David O’Byrne said the 2020-21 State Budget did not deliver a plan for jobs, with unemployment set to spike to 8.5 per cent.
“There is nothing in this budget that reflects the magnitude of the crisis we have been through over the past 12 months,” Mr O’Byrne said.
“This was the opportunity to be visionary but Peter Gutwein failed to rise to the challenge.
“What this budget does deliver is unrealistic predictions for future surpluses and rehashed infrastructure promises Tasmanians have heard before but never seen delivered.
“Every year Peter Gutwein has promised record infrastructure spending and every year he has failed to deliver.
“This is just more of the same from Peter Gutwein and, once again, it leaves Tasmanians behind.”
Mr O’Byrne said, alarmingly, the Budget places Tasmania’s post-COVID recovery in the hands of failed former Health Minister Michael Ferguson, the widely acknowledged wrecker of the state’s hospital system.
“Instead of demonstrating vision and forward thinking in the wake of COVID, all Tasmanians have been delivered is a re-run of promises that have already failed.”
Media release – Cassy O’Connor MP | Greens Leader, 12 November 2020
State Budget a Missed Opportunity to Invest in People
The 2020-21 State Budget is widely agreed to be the most important since the Second World War. This Budget, however, is a missed opportunity for a real reset to tackle the twin challenges of COVID and climate.
Once again, the millions are poured into roads, with nothing for pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. There is nowhere near enough in this Budget for housing.
What new Premier, Peter Gutwein, announced today fell short of what is needed to set a strong direction for lutruwita/Tasmania’s future, and to ensure no-one is left behind.
There are some positive things scattered through the State Budget, most of which the Greens have been pushing for years – electric vehicle rollout, energy efficiency in public housing, a waste levy and container deposit scheme.
They join the long list of Greens policies adopted by the Liberals in government – trauma informed care training in schools, funding redress, a Climate Change ministry, electric vehicle charging stations, and new Child and Family centres. It seems our Alternative Budgets aren’t as kooky as Premier Gutwein pretends.
The 2020-21 State Budget desperately wants – and pretends there will be – a return to business as usual within six months.
The Budget projects revenue sources more-or-less stabilising within 6 months, and their economic strategy continues to be subsidies to industrial friends and electoral pork barrelling. There is an unsurprising, heavy, funding focus in the Northern electorates.
Years of underfunding and a failure to invest in preventative health, housing and restorative justice instead of tough-on-crime policies have resulted in cost pressures that the Government increasingly can’t keep up with.
Rosalie Woodruff MP | Member for Franklin
This year’s Budget includes desperate efforts to fund massive service shortfalls in health, housing, and justice. It is the penultimate stage of a leaky dike.
While Peter Gutwein has managed the coronavirus health crisis well, it’s already clear he has gone back to the Liberal status quo in his response to the economic crisis. He’s putting pokies ahead of people, roads and bridges ahead of social infrastructure, and dying industries ahead of new ones that would deliver long-term, sustainable jobs.
This Budget should have been designed to support everyday Tasmanians who are doing it tough, and to forge a better future. But instead the Liberals are more worried about lining the pockets of their big business mates.
In this time of crisis, the Budget should meet the challenges we face head on. Unfortunately what Peter Gutwein has handed down today fails to do this.
The Greens look forward to delivering our vision for lutruwita/Tasmania through a fully costed Alternative Budget, to be released next week
State Budget Missing in Climate and Environmental Action
Cassy O’Connor MP | Greens Leader
After one of the most challenging years for Tasmanians in living memory, Peter Gutwein’s first Budget as Premier fails to address the dual threat – the climate emergency and pandemic emergency.
As the first Liberal Minister for Climate Change, Peter Gutwein should be doing everything he can to keep the carbon in the ground and protect biodiversity.
In a time of climate emergency and biodiversity crisis, there is no justification for native forest logging. Instead of ending native forest logging, the Liberals have continued subsidising this archaic climate destroying industry – with $8M of public funds going to Forestry Tasmania, and $5.1 million to TasRail to transport logs.
The Budget Papers also reveal Forestry Tasmania’s dividend lasted about five minutes.
There is no conservation funding provided for our globally significant Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The only money that appears is for driving more and more visitors into lutruwita’s protected areas.
The Liberals have obviously attempted to quell the angling community, angry at the government’s commitment to privatisise the Western Lakes, by trout-barrelling – with a freeze on trout licence fees. They have also handed $215K to the Anglers Alliance, who made public statements against the development at Lake Malbena in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park.
The State Budget includes $300K for the Liberals’ politically driven takayna/Tarkine tracks court case. In NAIDOC Week, this is a slap in the face to lutruwita/Tasmania’s First People.
Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens Climate Change spokesperson
Tasmanians who want reassurance the government recognises, and is prepared to act and protect them from, the threat of global heating will be disturbed by this year’s State Budget.
As the first Liberal Minister for Climate Change, Peter Gutwein has provided no funding for the 2022-26 Climate Change Action Plan – a massive missed opportunity.
There is a woeful $100K allocated to the Emissions Reduction Loan Scheme. In the midst of a climate emergency, this is not enough to drive lutruwita/Tasmania’s emissions down.
While it seems like a long time ago, bushfires ravaged lutruwita/Tasmania and the mainland in the last two summers. This State Budget ignores the distressing reality of an ever heating climate.
SES and TFS volunteers bear the brunt of disaster response, expected to increase with climate heating, yet get scant support in this Budget.
The commitment to ‘sustain and grow’ our remote area firefighting capability is backed by a woeful $160,000 a year, with the total budget to support SES volunteers statewide is $500K, both of which stop in 2 years. We’re not sure if the Liberals think climate-related disasters will have plateaued by then?
Funding for threatened species protection is cut in the forward estimates, when the Tasmanian devil funding ends. Do the Liberals expect, while they continue logging its habitat, we will have saved our iconic emblem by then? When we desperately need to monitor threatened populations and develop recovery plans for hundreds of species, there is nothing in the Budget to do this work.
While the Premier has made some steps forward, he should be doing everything in his power to protect future generations from the climate emergency.
Media release – Madeleine Ogilvie MP, Independent Member for Clark, 12 November 2020
OGILVIE DELIVERS FOR CLARK
Madeleine Ogilvie MP, Independent Member for Clark said today’s Budget funded commitments she had secured from the Government.
“Since I returned to the House of Assembly last year, I have been working hard for the people of Clark. I have consistently lobbied the Tasmanian Government to secure a range of initiatives that Clark residents have told me they need,” Ms Ogilvie said.
“I am delighted to see that today’s Budget has allocated funding for the following initiatives I have secured from Government:
- Funding through the State Road upgrades to resurface Davey Street to improve its safety
- $1 million over two years in funding for Palliative Care Tasmania – to ensure that all Tasmanians have access to this essential service
- $1.3 million for the Glenorchy Jobs Hub over two years– an initiative that I have been lobbying for since my return
- $5.2 million for investment into Macquarie Point to attract space and Antarctic investment and secure more APS jobs in the State
- Further funding to address the necessary upgrades of sports facilities for women, such as Queenborough Oval.
“I am proud to have delivered funding for these initiatives for the people of Clark. I am continuing to work hard at landing further commitments from the Government in the future.”
MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Madeleine Ogilvie MP, Independent Member for Clark said that a prime opportunity to enhance and improve our democracy has been missed in this Budget.
“Without allocation of funds for a digital transformation of Parliament, the people of Tasmania are being left in the dark,” Ms Ogilvie said.
“It is time we had a refresh of parliamentary democracy by bringing up to a modern standard all parliamentary information services and processes.
“This will inspire transparency and our communities’ engagement with our democracy.
“I call on the Government to extend its Digital Transformation programme to Parliament IT systems.”
NETBALL MISSES OUT
Madeleine Ogilvie MP, Independent Member for Clark said netball missed out in this Budget.
“Women need to stand up for their sport and demand their fair share of funding,” Ms Ogilvie said.
“We know that netball has the largest participation rate of women’s sport in Tasmania.
“Yet we see not a single cent of expenditure going to this well loved sport.
“We see AFL Tasmania, Basketball Tasmania, Cricket Tasmania and Football Tasmania each receive substantial grants ranging from $250,000 to $500,000 per annum.
“I am disappointed that the Government has failed netballers right across the State and left funding for their sport out of this Budget.”
FREE TUTORS REQUIRED
Madeleine Ogilvie MP, Independent Member for Clark called on the Government to provide the direct support needed to see students achieve their best.
“The parents of Tasmania say that their kids have had a tough school year,” Ms Ogilvie said.
“Other States are providing free tutors to help students catch up on missed and disrupted education. This is something we should be implementing here, and I am disappointed there is no funding for a targeted program provided in the Budget.
“A great side benefit to this plan is providing the additional work opportunity for educators in our state who are seeking work, or to enable teachers who are looking to retire to allow them to continue to use their skills in a more flexible way.
OGILVIE’S GLENORCHY JOBS HUB SECURED
Madeleine Ogilvie MP, Independent Member for Clark, today claimed victory on the delivery of funding for the Glenorchy Jobs Hub.
“From my first question back in Parliament, I have been working to deliver funding for Glenorchy and delivering a Jobs Hub,” Ms Ogilvie said.
“I have made no apology of prioritising jobs, jobs, jobs for the people of Clark. I know that with big infrastructure projects like the Spirits of Tasmania and the Marinus Link Project it is essential that job seekers can be connected to businesses.
“I am proud to have delivered $1.3 million in funding for the Glenorchy Jobs Hub over two years.
“This is an incredibly important initiative for my electorate, and it has become critical in the wake of the impact of the coronavirus that people are able to find employment.”
Media Release – Shelter Tas, 12 November 2020
Building Homes Builds the Economy
Shelter Tas welcomes the State Government’s 2020-21 budget, with increased spending for social housing and homelessness services. A building-led recovery will help increase jobs and create more affordable homes for Tasmanians.
“The best way to secure affordable housing for the low income Tasmanians who need it is through investment in not-for-profit housing,” Shelter Tas CEO, Pattie Chugg said. “Today’s announcement that $300M over four years will be spent on social and affordable housing will provide certainty and a pipeline for new construction. Shelter Tas welcomes this clear commitment to increasing much-needed public and community housing across the state.”
“Earlier this year, we welcomed announcements of $100M to build up to 1000 new community houses across Tasmania, and then last week the early budget announcement of the $16.8M to fund Safe Space programs in Burnie, Launceston and Hobart until June 2022,” Ms Chugg said.
The new Safe Spaces help people who are sleeping rough with much needed places to stay safe overnight and support people to access mental health and housing services. Importantly, this includes linking them into longer term accommodation, under a Housing First model.
“Building much needed social housing provides both an economic boost and a public good. Tasmania shows great leadership by including social housing as a key post-COVID economic stimulus,” Ms Chugg said.
The Tasmanian Affordable Housing Strategy 2015- 25 has shown the effectiveness of the community housing sector to deliver additional homes for Tasmanians; and Shelter Tas welcomes this additional support, which adds to investment in the initial Affordable Housing Action Plan (2015-19) of $73.5M and then $125M in the follow-up Action Plan (2019-23).
“The COVID-19 emergency has reinforced the necessity of everyone having a safe and secure home, where they can self-isolate if needed and protect both individual and community health. COVID-19 has changed work patterns, and homes are increasingly becoming the site of employment, thus strengthening the link between housing and work.”
“The State Budget today recognises housing is essential social and economic infrastructure. It is the bedrock for people’s wellbeing, participation in work and community activities, and it underpins the care of dependent children. No-one deserves to live in housing stress, poverty or homelessness,” Ms Chugg said.
“Tasmania’s social housing waiting list is at 3,373 applications, the average time to house priority applicants is at 64 weeks and over 8 000 households in the private rental market are in housing stress. Shelter Tas calls for 10% of dwellings to be affordable social housing. We welcome the Budget’s announcement for young people experiencing homelessness, including new Youth Foyers in Hobart and Burnie, and a Youth at Risk Centre in Launceston. Providing $15m for energy efficiency and heating upgrades in public housing will help households across Tasmania with cost of living pressures,” Ms Chugg said.
“The best way to address housing crisis, homelessness and housing hardship is to increase the supply of social housing which sets rents as a proportion of household income, and therefore remains affordable in the long term. Investment in a sustainable, affordable housing system that ensures that every Tasmanian has the home they need is a great vision for Tasmania,” Ms Chugg said. “We look forward to seeing more Tasmanians in safe, affordable homes through these budget initiatives.”
Media release – TSBC, 12 November 2020
Opportunities Abound for the Small Business Sector
‘Today’s Tasmanian budget, whilst forged in the fires of the worlds’ worst crisis in a hundred years, provides unprecedented opportunity for the Tasmanian small business sector’, said Robert Mallett, CEO of the Tasmanian Small Business sector.
‘The level of infrastructure spending on so many small projects leaves the door open for the Tasmanian trades sector to roll up their sleeves and get tendering.’
‘Much of the recent past spending on major roads and bridges has pushed smaller operators out of the market place but the numbers of bite sized projects in regional Tasmania in this budget will provide ample opportunity for all to participate.’
‘In particular is the $15M for public housing heating and energy efficiency initiatives will keep our electricians and heat pump suppliers busy for some time.’
‘However, there is one proviso and that is that the projects need to be offered in small manageable tenders which cater for the capacity of local suppliers.’
‘Recent changes to the Treasurers’ instructions lessening the red tape burden on procurers and suppliers goes a long way to ensuring this, but more needs to be done.’
‘Ongoing support to the small business sector through the small grants program will continue to provide vital support to the retail and services sector hoping to cash in on the expected influx of visitors who recognise that Tasmania is not only one of the most beautiful places in the world but also one of the safest places you can holiday.’
‘Announced on the weekend and confirmed today is the additional support for businesses to take on trainees and apprentices. In difficult times, a commitment to take on untrained and unproven staff is a bold one. The decision by the state government to invest in Tasmania’s skilled future shows foresight and a commitment for the employers of today and the consumers of tomorrow’.
‘The policy has reintroduced a fairness to all employers by not trying to pick industry winners but acknowledging every job is important whether it is with a hairdresser or a builder, a small business or a big business.’
Adrienne Picone, CEO, TasCOSS, 12 November 2020
The government’s welcome shift towards prioritising investment in people’s health and wellbeing throughout the COVID-19 recovery is evident in this budget.
There remains a heavy emphasis by government on public and private infrastructure such as roads and buildings as a means to short-term economic recovery.
To make this infrastructure investment meaningful for all Tasmanians, investment is needed in the systems, programs and people that support us all to maintain or regain our health and wellbeing so we are able to participate fully both socially and economically.
One area identified as lacking during the health crisis was isolation and disconnection from education, work and support services resulting from poor digital access and skills.
This was evident across many population groups including older Tasmanians, people living on low incomes and those living with disabilities, retail businesses and many others.
Tasmania has the lowest rates of digital inclusion (Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2020). If necessary investment in adult and digital literacy, low and no cost devices and data, broad communities of Tasmanians will be further excluded.
Media release – Australian Education Union Tasmania, 12 November 2020
Budget 2020: a good start on schools and colleges with more work to be done
“Educators and families warmly welcome a state budget that in six months has gone from $109 million in cuts to education to no cuts and delivers previous promises, including an additional 87 FTE in teaching staff and 80 FTE in Education Support Personnel,” said Helen Richardson, AEU Tasmania President.
“While not obvious in the budget papers, the Education Minister has assured us that per student funding growth for public schools is occurring at a higher rate than non-government schools, recognising the sector with the greatest need and strong enrolment growth.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic reminded all Tasmanians just how valuable our teachers, principals and school staff are. Investment in public education is the best strategy for a recovery that is lasting and fair.”
“We are disappointed to find no significant boost to school psychologists, social workers and youth workers to support students in tackling underlying issues that prevent them from focusing on learning. There should be at least one school psychologist for every 500 students but school psychologists will continue to have close to 900 students each.”
“This budget still doesn’t address a chronic shortage of speech therapists and other professional support staff so children will continue to wait for a year or more to get the urgent assessments and support they need.”
WAGES
“The Minister was right to recognise that wage increases will assist broader spending and confidence in our economy, and we look forward to seeing this attitude reflected when EBA negotiations re-commence next year.”
“Teacher Assistants remain some of our lowest paid workers. To attract and retain the best of the best in teaching we need to offer wages and conditions that reflect that aim.”
INVESTMENT
“The Liberal government has committed Tasmania to “lead the nation in education”, but we will require significant levels of investment to make that pledge a reality and make up for the Federal Government’s funding shortfall.
“Most schools will still fail to reach the minimum Schooling Resource Standard that ensures every child gets the quality education they deserve.”
“The AEU is working closely with the Department of Education to tackle excessive teacher workloads that leave students missing out, but the quickest fix would be to invest in more support staff and more teachers to reduce class sizes.”
“Tasmania has the highest rates of disadvantage of any state so we need additional support staff and teachers, so students get the support and time they need.”
MIXED MESSAGE ON TAFE WITH GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD
“The Government is set to throw good money after bad with $1 million that will largely fund a private board and CEO in direct competition to Drysdale TAFE.”
“We’ve seen a long history of rorts and poor quality training from private providers and we’ve recently seen significant problems with the latest government-preferred private provider Foundry in Launceston where TAFE was once again overlooked.”
“The $1 million should go to TasTAFE to deliver better quality hospitality and tourism courses and a better deal for Tasmania in the long run. We need cooperation and investment across the board, not more competition.”
“The AEU acknowledges the $2 million in additional targeted staffing for TasTAFE, $21 million in capital works and a further $21 million for low and no-fee VET courses, but regrets that this news is overshadowed by a misguided and wasteful spend for an RTO.
EDUCATION INITIATIVES THAT ARE WELCOME:
Students with disability
“The additional transition spend to support a “needs-based” model of funding for students with disability is welcome.
“It is a model supported by parents, advocates, and the AEU and we are seeing an increasing number of students eligible for support and therefore, we expect funding needs will continue to increase. It’s good to see a corresponding increase in funding in the budget, both for this transition time and in the years ahead.”
“It is not yet clear that the money budgeted will be enough to meet student need, but we will get a clearer picture in the months and years to come.”
80 Education Support Personnel
“Maintaining an election commitment to employ the equivalent of an additional 80 Education Support Personnel is welcome and it is the AEU’s intention to ensure the majority become qualified education support specialists working with students who need that extra support.”
“Education Support Specialists are great for students and it also gives Teacher Assistants a career pathway with a good incentive to achieve a new qualification and expand their skills and responsibilities.”
Support for students with trauma and behavioural issues
“Having recognised the increasing numbers of students with trauma in our schools last year, it is most welcome to see an increase in funding in this budget to begin addressing the complex needs of students affected.”
“For too long teachers and support staff have had to manage the impact of home trauma on their students and classroom with little support, it is great to see this being addressed.”
Needs-based funding here to stay
“The Tasmanian Government deserves to be commending for committing to needs-based funding in our schools – it’s a common sense, fair funding approach.”
“Unfortunately, while the model is good, the funding is still insufficient and while this is largely due to shortfalls from the Federal Government, this budget is a reminder that the Tasmanian Government must pick up the shortfall until their federal counterparts step up, or it is students that will continue to miss out.”
New child and family centres
“Early support for young children in disadvantaged communities is vital and we know the Child and Family Centre model is highly successful, so we welcome the investment and additional facilities we have been advocating for.”
Media release – Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs Council Tasmania, 12 November 2020
State Budget priorities for alcohol and other drugs questioned by peak body
Today’s announcement of $4.9 million of new funding over the next two years for the Tasmanian alcohol, tobacco and other drugs sector has sent a strong message that the Tasmanian Government is committed to reducing the harms associated with alcohol, tobacco and other drug use.
However, ATDC chief executive Alison Lai has said that despite the large investment, the majority of the funding has been allocated into bolstering or delivering new reforms through the Tasmanian Government’s own services, with little funding allocated to the community managed sector in comparison.
“This is the largest single injection of funds into our sector for some time, but the announcement has left us scratching our heads to why it is so unbalanced and skewed towards the government’s own services,” Ms Lai said.
“While a small number of our members have been provided with assurances that funding for their existing programs will be guaranteed until 30 June 2021, this pales in comparison to the funding allocated to the government’s own services who have been provided a commitment of funding over two years.
“We don’t wish to downplay the importance of investing in new reforms, but unfortunately this budget has prioritised investment into programs to be delivered by the government over providing funding continuity to community organisations currently delivering programs to Tasmanians, and this doesn’t make sense.
“We are also confused as to why new funding has been injected into trialling a new home detox treatment service in southern Tasmania when our organisation, and our members, have been strongly advocating for the establishment of medically supervised detox services in the north and north-west of Tasmania, where there are community options available to establish this service.
“We are incredibly pleased to see the injection of funds into the Tasmanian Government’s Alcohol and Drug Services, because they have also been significantly underfunded for a considerable period of time.
“But our members are also working under an incredible amount of pressure that has only risen due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this budget announcement unfortunately offers little comfort or additional funding support to the work that they do.
“We have many questions including whether the funding will address the waiting lists for Tasmanians seeking access to the pharmacotherapy program, and whether it will fund the continuation of the free take-home naloxone trial that the government introduced as a COVID19 response measure.
“These are questions that we know are very important to Tasmanians and their families seeking support.
“We appreciate that the funding provided is part of a 10-year reform agenda, and given the announcements today we will be looking to see the imbalance rectified in the 2021-22 State Budget to ensure that the government and non-government alcohol and other drugs sectors are equally supported to deliver services to Tasmanians in need.
Media release – Australian Medical Association Tasmania, 12 November 2020
AMA Tasmania general response to budget:
- AMA Tasmania supports responsible levels of debt during these unusual times to ensure that the crises in our emergency departments, the blowouts on elective surgery lists, and the need for more mental health services can be addressed.
- Government needs a clear plan to gradually come of our debt so that future health budgets do not bear the brunt of a budget/debt crisis.
AMA Tasmania specific response to health budget:
- We welcome the additional spending in health. We feared we might have lost some of the money provided in February to make health budgets more sustainable, but this is not the case. The Government now needs to build sustainable long-term funding into elective surgery, rather than this one-off, turn the tap on and off approach we see once again in this budget.
- We welcome the ongoing commitment to improving the capital infrastructure of our hospitals across the State.
- ED (emergency departments) ramping and Bed Block remain critical issues for our major hospitals – more beds are required sooner rather than later. We urge the Government to open their new beds as quickly as possible at the Royal Hobart Hospital and the Launceston General Hospital.
Welcome new investment in:
- $21m ICT (Information and Communications Technology) – but need to invest in an EMR (Electronic Medical Record) right now that will help to build the connectivity between acute care and primary care providers and patients. This investment should be being delivered in parallel with that being invested in modernising HR payroll, rosters etc.
- $45.5m Elective Surgery – this money is much needed but is unlikely to make a dent in the long waiting lists. It will help to ensure the Government delivers it’s expected levels of around 19,000 procedures.
- $4m CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) – this is only the first stage in the funding required to improve CAMHS services in line with the Government’s much-needed reform agenda. More will be required. Also, need capital works investment. Buildings such as Clare House are not adequate to support appropriate clinical care for children.
- $4.1m Mental Health Reform – great to see funding but concerned that it does not go far enough. Mental Health services have always been the poor cousin and still needs more funding to help address the growing mental health care needs of the community. We need more psychiatrists in delivering community care and more acute mental health beds.
- $4.9m Alcohol and Drugs Service (ADS) – is welcome and must go to support public sector services which are woefully underfunded and badly in need of extra resources to provide services across the State, including appropriate in-patient beds.
AMA Tasmania has valued the approach taken by the Government in guiding our State and the health system through COVID-19. It has been critical for our clinicians to know that access to funds was not going to be an issue when dealing with this insidious virus.
AMA Tasmania President Dr Helen McArdle remarked, “2020 more than any other year has shone a light on the importance of having a unified, fully funded health care system.
Earlier this year AMA Tasmania welcomed the Government’s announcement of additional funding to the Tasmanian Health Service of $118m in the previous financial year and a further $140m in this financial year.
Dr McArdle commented, “health should never be looked upon as an expensive line item in Tasmania’s Budget but rather an investment in the welfare, wellbeing, and productivity of the Tasmanian people.
More is required – this funding makes the current system sustainable. It does nothing to help fund new services that are needed in a growing community to deal with our ageing population and rise in chronic disease.
We need additional doctors, and we need to pay them appropriately to attract and retain them in this highly competitive global market in which we operate.
We cannot continue to rely on locum doctors. Dr McArdle stipulated, “there is no denying that huge infrastructure investment is vital for stimulating an economy, but this cannot come at the cost of investing in people.
While a plan to get Tasmania out of net debt is essential, the timeframe in which this occurs must not add further strain to an already burdened health care system.
At some stage, the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will need to be reconciled, and this cannot come at the cost of the health system of Tasmania or lives will be lost.
Dr McArdle said, “We support the government’s commitment to funding investment into the State health sector. We could not as a State or as a health system have coped with cuts to state government expenditure at a time when the economy is fragile, and demand for health services is increasing. Austerity right now would only lead to worse health outcomes and inevitably higher costs in the long run.
The Tasmanian Governments $4 million investment to commence Phase One of implementing the comprehensive recommendations made in the Independent Review the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services is recognised as a first step in the right direction.
Last week AMA Tasmania welcomed the $45.5 million elective surgery boost announced by the Tasmanian Liberal Government. AMA Tasmania President Dr Helen McArdle added, “our elective surgery lists are at an all-time high, and any increase in funding for elective surgery is welcomed as this will help us manage that.
We know Tasmanians are sitting on these waiting lists for far too long. In the interest of those patients, the AMA welcomes the additional health funding but would like to see this develop into long-term sustained funding that allows appropriate planning and recruitment of staff.
Dr Helen McArdle said, “a permanent planned increase in funding would let the health sector better plan and resource for the management of elective surgery within our State and alleviate our heavy reliance on locums. We know that investing in your workforce is better in the long term for Tasmanians.
Only sustained funding over the long term will assist in building public hospital staffing capacity to enable these waiting lists to be addressed and allow consistency in our delivery to help ongoing management of our waiting lists.
All parts of Tasmania’s health care system must be based on the reality that all aspects of the health system are linked and depend on each other to meet patient and community demand effectively this can only be achieved by investment in IT infrastructure and ICT strategy. We welcome the Government’s announcement of the critical and overdue investment in ICT. The next critical step for the government will be to fund an electronic medical record system.
We must recognise the ever-increasing role of General Practitioners in the provision of health care to acute patients in rural hospitals and the community and ensure General Practice/Primary Care are consulted and involved in the creation of new programs and services.
Dr McArdle added, “we look forward to working with the Government on how best to support General Practice to provide appropriate urgent care in the community. GPs have a profound influence on both health outcomes and health expenditures. To ensure that general practice is equipped to meet the challenges of providing urgent care to an ageing population and the growing burden of complex and chronic disease, the Government needs to deliver real resources to frontline GP (general practice) services.”
Health is the best investment that our Government of Tasmania can make.
Media release – Community and Public Sector Union, 12 November 2020
GUTWEIN BUDGET MORE THAN JUST A MISSED OPPORTUNITY
The Gutwein Government’s first post-COVID budget is a missed opportunity to deliver a landmark jobs recovery with a lasting legacy, the union for public sector workers has said.
“This budget follows the disappointing lead of the Morrison Government with a fixation on infrastructure jobs which will provide a short-term boost to the economy, while delivering no permanent jobs and failing to improve the daily lives of Tasmanians,” said Thirza White, Acting Secretary of the Community & Public Sector Union.
“The Budget acknowledges the important role of the Parks and Wildlife Service in regional employment, but doesn’t significantly fund new jobs to manage the natural and cultural heritage which are the soul of our tourism industry.”
“This budget fails to address understaffing in Child Safety through permanent jobs. Out of home care continues to be a rising cost and it’s time we considered reversing the privatisation of this critical service to deliver better outcomes for our state’s most vulnerable young people.”
“We welcome some new funding for DPIPWE but will be looking closely to see whether these jobs will be secure jobs or a continuation of seasonal and insecure work in the agency. Without a job you can count on employees are unlikely to have the confidence to spend in local businesses.”
“CPSU Members will be pleased to see some investment in Courts, the Tasmania Prison Service and State Growth, but this budget lacks a vision for how the public sector could drive a jobs recovery for our state.”
“Investing in Public Sector jobs doesn’t just improve services, it drives consumer demand. There is no bigger opportunity for kick-starting our economy than by providing Tasmanians secure jobs that give them the confidence to spend in local businesses.”
If any organisations, political parties large & small, groups, etc have a statement in response to the budget, for publication, please send it in.
