Comes crashing down

reverse in fiscal fortunes on the demands of the health system. But rather than unexpected, the additional expenditure for health was predictable and entirely inevitable. The 2018-19 budget contained $111 million less for health and hospitals than was spent in the previous financial year.

Everyone knows there is a health crisis in Tasmania and it did not make sense that spending less on health would help improve the situation.

So while the Liberals have now allocated an additional $105 million for health, it is still $6 million less than the amount spent in 2017-18.

This is not a one-off oversight. Last year leaked reports from KPMG and RDME revealed the health system is systematically underfunded to the tune of about $100 million a year.

What’s worse, Peter Gutwein has not addressed the health black hole in future budget years. He has allocated just $50 million in additional spending for the next three years when the reality is that the system needs at least double that.

If the true requirement for health spending was included over the forward estimates, a very sick set of numbers would look even worse.

Budgets are about choices and the Liberals chose to prioritise unaffordable election spending over funding essential services.

They have ignored sensible policy ideas that would bring additional money into the budget, like the point-of-consumption tax on online gambling that Labor proposed at the last election. All other states have now adopted this measure, which is estimated to raise in excess of $10 million every year.

They continue to arrogantly dismiss frontline workers like firefighters, park rangers, teachers, nurses and paramedics, who simply want to be paid wages that keep up with the cost of living.

By refusing to negotiate in good faith with his workforce, Peter Gutwein is creating a false economy which has seen morale and productivity drop and made it almost impossible to recruit workers, which in turn drives up overtime costs and sick leave.

The first thing needed to address this budget mess is honesty. We need to see the Treasurer tell the truth about the mess he has got this state into. No more spin.

Because Peter Gutwein is right — Tasmania is on the cusp of a golden age, but it is going to take more than magic tricks to get us there.