COMMITMENT TO INCREASE AMBULANCE FUNDS NEEDED

The Tasmanian Greens today responded to the Treasurer’s announcement that plans for an ambulance levy are on hold until next financial year, saying that proper consultation with key bodies and the community prior to decisions on ambulance funding were vital to a good outcome, but that there is no evidence the government had learned this lesson, nor that they would prioritise ambulances for public funding ahead of taxpayer support for Gunns pulp mill. Greens Opposition Leader and Shadow Health spokesperson Peg Putt MP called for a guarantee of increased ambulance funding in the upcoming State Budget and said that the Lennon government had made a mess of the whole issue since it announced plans for an across the board charge in last year’s State Budget, a plan that had proved deeply unpopular and completely unworkable — as could have been predicted from day one. “The government has been forced back to the drawing board over ambulance funding because they were too arrogant to talk things through with the relevant bodies and the community before they came up with their unpopular and unworkable ambulance charge, and are now running into trouble about how to apply a levy,” Ms Putt said.

“The big picture question is, why would you levy taxpayers additional money to pay for such a vital service as ambulances, yet give away taxpayers money by the $millions to support Gunns unpopular private pulp mill development?” “The Treasurer may have backed off his plans to impose an ambulance levy in the upcoming State Budget, but he must also assure Tasmanians that he will direct the necessary additional resources into ambulance services nonetheless.” “The much vaunted Health Plan depends on better patient transport, including putting more into the ambulance service.” “The north west is experiencing compounding problems with ambulance service provision, yet the need is exacerbated by the decision that ICU will not operate at the Mersey campus.” “This government must learn the lesson from its year long ambulance debacle, which is that being prepared to consult properly at the outset saves a lot of time and angst in the long run,” Ms Putt concluded.. Tue May 2008 04:05 (8 months ago)