Health headlines dying stages of election campaign
The island state is heading to the ballot box on Saturday for a second election in as many years after minority Liberal premier Jeremy Rockliff lost the confidence of parliament in June.
All signs point to another hung parliament, with the latest poll putting the Liberals ahead of Labor but both short of the 18-seat mark needed to reach majority.
Tasmania's health outcomes lag behind national averages on many metrics, with life expectancy the second worst of any Australian jurisdiction.
An ageing population and socio-economic disadvantage put significant pressure on the health system, according to a Primary Health Tasmania 2024 report.
Mr Rockliff says the Liberals would deliver a purpose-built $15 million medical precinct, including a mental health hub, in the Huon Valley south of Hobart.
It would feature 100 per cent bulk-billing GP appointments, as well as after-hours and weekend services.
Labor leader Dean Winter was in Launceston in the state's north to reveal the location of one of its 10 proposed TassieDoc bulk-billed GP clinics.
His party doubled their TassieDoc commitment to 10 clinics, after the Liberals matched their initial commitment to set up five clinics.
"It takes an election campaign and sensible policies to see them do anything about health," Mr Winter told reporters.
The state's rural doctors association has called for urgent action to address an "exorbitant" budget spend in the northwest on locum services.
Some $3.7 million per year could be saved if the health service permanently recruited GP emergency and GP anaesthetics instead of using locums, the association said.
The two party leaders, who have both made health announcements in recent days, will go head-to-head in the only debate of the campaign on Wednesday.
The Liberals hold 14 of 35 seats in the lower house, while the 11-year Labor opposition has 10.
The no-confidence motion in Mr Rockliff, put forward by Labor and supported by the Greens and three crossbench MPs, was critical of the state's ballooning debt.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
37 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Sweet and sour in Beijing: PM's China trip bears fruit
Sweet and tangy jujubes could soon be on the way to Australian shelves as part of a broadened trade pact with China. The agreement was one of six signed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday as Australia and China sought to boost business links as US President Donald Trump upends the global trade order. Jujubes, a small apple-like fruit, will be exported to Australia while apples from the Australian mainland will be allowed to be exported to China for the first time. Another four memoranda of understanding were signed by the pair as Mr Albanese met the highest-ranking Chinese leaders - President Xi Jinping, Premier Li and Chairman Zhao Leji - in the centrepiece of his six-day visit to China. Australia and China must deepen economic co-operation given increasing trade frictions elsewhere, Mr Li said after a lavish welcome in Beijing's Great Hall of the People. "In recent years, co-operation has encountered headwinds," he said, adding that it was hard to find two countries with more complementary economies than Australia and China. His comments were echoed by Mr Albanese. "My government believes unequivocally in free and fair trade as a driver of global growth, and I know the discussions that we've had today have been very constructive," he said. But the relationship is not without its challenges. China has chafed at Australia's stringent foreign investment regime on Chinese firms. Mr Li said China would protect the rights of foreign businesses and treat them in accordance with the law, in an oblique reference to Australian plans to tear up a Chinese-owned company's lease of Darwin Port. "I trust Australia will treat Chinese enterprise fairly and properly resolve issues regarding market access and investment review," he told a gathering of Australian and Chinese business leaders. Mr Li and Mr Albanese also signed an agreement to kickstart a review of the 10-year-old free trade agreement between the two nations. Collaboration on steel decarbonisation, increasing tourism links and paperless certification of agriculture products were also broached at the meeting. The prime minister will visit the Great Wall on Wednesday before flying out to Chengdu in the southwestern province of Sichuan - known as the home of the giant panda.
Perth Now
37 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Leaders to face off in only election campaign debate
Liberal and Labor leaders will front up for the only debate of Tasmania's snap election campaign, as the prospect of another hung parliament looms. Voters will head to the ballot box on Saturday, six weeks after minority Liberal premier Jeremy Rockliff lost a vote of no-confidence in parliament. The latest opinion poll has the Liberals on track to win more seats than Labor, but not enough to reach the 18 mark required for majority. Both majors have ruled out doing a deal with the Greens, meaning they will likely have to rely on an independent-heavy crossbench to govern. Mr Rockliff and Labor leader Dean Winter will go toe-to-toe on Wednesday at a debate hosted by Sky News and the Mercury newspaper. Labor put forward the no-confidence motion against Mr Rockliff partly based on the state's poor finances. It was backed by the Greens and three crossbench MPs. Mr Rockliff didn't step down as Liberal leader, prompting the governor to call an election when no workable government could be found. "As I've travelled around Tasmania, Tasmanians have said to me they did not want an election," Mr Rockliff told reporters on Tuesday. "They realised Dean Winter forced this election with a rush of blood to the head. "Tasmanians want certainty and stability." Mr Winter blamed the election on Mr Rockliff's stubbornness. Health has dominated campaigning in recent days, with both parties outlining plans for improved GP access. Big-spending promises have been non-existent, with Tasmania's debt under the 11-year Liberals set to double to almost $11 billion in 2028/29 according to the most-recent budget. The state last went to the polls in March 2024, with the Liberals winning 14 seats in the 35-seat house of assembly and Labor 10.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Outdated environment laws may hinder Australia's dreams
Australia will miss many of its most important goals unless its environment laws undergo a long-overdue transformation, an economic heavyweight has warned. Ken Henry - a former Treasury secretary, NAB chairman and prime ministerial adviser - has urged Australia to overhaul its main environment act as the Labor government pursues a litany of economic reforms. Its plans to build 1.2 million houses by 2029, boost renewable energy, and develop the critical minerals industry have taken attention away from the languishing Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. But Dr Henry says Labor's ambitious proposals cannot be achieved without major reform. "If we can't achieve environmental law reform, then we should stop dreaming about more challenging options," the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation chair will tell the National Press Club on Wednesday. "To put it bluntly, there is no chance of Australia meeting stated targets for net zero, renewable energy, critical minerals development, housing and transport infrastructure without very high quality national laws." These goals are also an answer to Australia's flagging productivity which the government has been determined to address in its second term. "Economics has, for the most part, ignored the most important constraints on human choices," Dr Henry will say. "Our failure to recognise that the laws of nature affect the set of feasible choices available to us is now having a discernible impact on productivity - and things are getting worse with accelerating speed. "We need to break the deadlock." Reforms to main environment laws would need to ensure Commonwealth, state and territory governments can co-operate for a shared purpose, finalise effective national standards and establish an expert, independent decision maker in the form of a national environmental protection agency. For more than two decades, the country's main environment legislation has remained largely unchanged, even after a landmark review released in 2021 found the act was not fit to address current or future challenges. Labor came into office with a promise to fix the laws, but its proposals have stalled following staunch criticism from scientists, environmentalists and mining industry groups.
