Health system can’t afford $700 million of Liberal cuts

New figures have revealed just how little Tasmania’s health system can afford the $700 million worth of cuts Eric Abetz has announced for it.

In February, Productivity Commission data showed Tasmania was already the worst performing state in the nation for emergency health and ambulance services.

According new Health Department data, those waits are getting worse.

Over the past week, Tasmania’s average median ambulance response time has sat at 16.4 minutes. On the day Eric Abetz announced he was cutting $700 million from the health system, it was 18.4 minutes.

In 2024-25 the median wait was 14.9 minutes – a result which at that time made Tasmania the worst performing state in the nation. But even though the wait times are getting longer, Eric Abetz is still cutting.

The picture isn’t any better when it comes to our Emergency Departments.

On the day that Eric Abetz announced he was cutting $700 million from the health system, only 41 per cent of emergency department patients were seen within time across the state.

That same day at the Launceston General Hospital only 28 per cent of patients were seen on time, while just 35 per cent were seen on time at the Royal Hobart Hospital.

The Premier can try and soften the message as much as he likes, but the facts don’t lie.

After 13 years of Liberal waste Premier Rockliff put Eric Abetz in charge of slashing jobs and services to pay for it, and Tasmanians will pay the price.