Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The hospital funding deal between the Commonwealth and the states has now been agreed to. It's been signed, sealed and sold as a win. But, for Tasmanians who rely on our public hospitals every day, there is very little here that inspires confidence. Yes, the agreement includes additional funding, and, yes, Tasmania is expected to receive around $700 million over five years. That funding is definitely welcome. Our health system needs it. What we don't have is clarity.

We still don't know when Tasmania will receive the money. There's no clear schedule, no certainty year to year and no guarantee that this funding will arrive in time to address the pressures already overwhelming our hospitals. That means Tasmanians could be waiting years before this agreement translates into real improvements, while emergency departments remain overcrowded, ambulances continue to ramp and waiting lists grow longer. Tasmania cannot afford to wait.

We're the oldest state in the country. We have poorer health outcomes than the national average and higher rates of chronic disease. Demands on our hospitals are increasing—not gradually, but rapidly. Yet, Tasmania's public hospitals receive around 40 per cent of their funding from the federal government, while other states receive over five per cent more. That gap has real consequences—fewer beds, fewer staff, longer waits and worse outcomes—simply because of geography.

The funding looks better on paper but still undeniably worse on the ground, and that's why funding alone will never be enough if we don't also fix the infrastructure problems. Tasmania cannot retrofit its way out of this crisis. You can't build on top of something that already can't hold itself together. Our hospitals were not designed for today's healthcare demands. They certainly weren't designed for an ageing population. Continually patching up old buildings might keep the lights on, but it does not deliver safe, modern and efficient care.

What Tasmania needs is three new fit-for-purpose public hospitals, planned properly, built properly and located where people can actually get to them. We need a new hospital on the north-west coast, serving a region that has been asked to make do for far too long. We need a new hospital in Launceston, in the north, designed to meet growing demand and improve access for surrounding communities. We need a new Royal Hobart Hospital in the south, built on a greenfield site, delivered by 2035 and designed from the ground up for modern health care. These hospitals must be planned with our ageing population in mind: accessible, well connected and able to expand as demand grows. This is not about prestige projects; it's about safety, capacity and dignity for patients and health workers alike.

But hospitals don't exist in isolation, and I want to turn to another part of this agreement that carries serious risks if we get it wrong—the Thriving Kids program. The decision to delay its rollout until October, with full implementation from 28 January, was necessary because the stakes here are incredibly high. We cannot risk children being removed from the NDIS and being placed into a new program that does not actually work. Families are already worried—worried their children will lose access to early-intervention occupational therapy, speech therapy and other vital supports, and be shifted into a system that is still undefined and untested. If the Thriving Kids program fails, the consequences will be real and immediate. Children will miss critical developmental windows; families will be left without support; and the pressure will flow straight back into schools, hospitals and the broader health system.

This must not become a cost-cutting exercise disguised as reform. We still need clear answers about eligibility, service delivery and outcomes. Consultation must be genuine and ongoing, not just with advisory councils but with families and the professionals who keep this system running, including occupational therapists and other allied health workers. If Thriving Kids becomes a pathway off the NDIS without a genuine, effective alternative, then it will have failed before it even begins.

Finally, none of this can be separated from the broader funding picture. Tasmania needs a renegotiated GST deal that makes things better for Tasmanians in the long term. Tasmanians don't expect miracles, but we do expect fairness, transparency and solutions that actually work.