[Greens-Media] Tas Greens_COAG Opportunity to Renegotiate Inadequate Health Funding_C O'Connor MP

[greens at parliament.tas.gov.au]

COAG REPRESENTS OPPORTUNITY TO RENEGOTIATE HEALTH FUNDING

Blame-Game Over Tasmanian Health Must Cease 

Cassy O'Connor MP
Greens Shadow Health Spokesperson

Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Contact: State Parliamentary Offices of the Tasmanian Greens, (03) 6233
8300

www.tas.greens.org.au


The Tasmanian Greens today called on Premier David Bartlett to utilise
Tasmanian Labor's close relationship with the new Federal Labor
Government and renegotiate a much-needed increase in Tasmanian health
funding under the Australian Health Care Agreement at this week's
Council Of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Perth.

Greens Shadow Health spokesperson Cassy O'Connor MP said that while the
Tasmanian Labor Government and the previous Federal Howard Government
bickered over who was to blame for Tasmania's ailing public health
system, the new Labor Government in Canberra represents a real
opportunity.

"The Premier needs to lobby his federal colleagues for a necessary
injection of funds into a number of crucial areas in the health and
human services sector, including staff recruitment, disability services,
mental health services and child protection, and to sharply reduce
public hospital waiting lists which have gone up by 40% in the past
decade," said Ms O'Connor.

"Tasmania has increased its share of health funding in recent years, but
John Howard's Government took advantage of this increase in state-based
health funding and, in real terms, federal health funding for Tasmania
declined sharply."

"Tasmania's aging population is placing increasing pressure on our
health system; the need for increased federal health funding for
Tasmania has never been greater." 

"On behalf of all Tasmanians, David Bartlett needs to get more out of
his Labor colleages at COAG than Paul Lennon ever got out of the Howard
Government. There should be no more excuses for failing to achieve
better funding outcomes." 

"Federal Labor said it would increase health funding if elected, and it
is now up to David Bartlett to extract that promised increase in funding
from his federal Labor colleagues," said Ms O'Connor.




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