MEDIA RELEASE: Burnet backs AMA and HACSU call for independent inquiry into Tasmania’s health system

Burnet backs AMA and HACSU call for independent inquiry into Tasmania’s health system

Independent Member for Clark Helen Burnet has backed calls from the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and HACSU for a broad-ranging, independent inquiry into Tasmania’s health system, saying the Government must accept that it needs outside help to address the crisis.

When the AMA first called for a Commission of Inquiry, the Health Minister immediately dismissed the proposal, focusing on the time and expense involved in such inquiries.

“While the Minister may be right that Commissions of Inquiry can be lengthy and expensive, she has completely failed to acknowledge the significance of what Tasmania’s peak medical association – and now the peak health services union – are telling her.

“These are organisations whose members are at the coalface of our health system every day. They are effectively saying the problems have become so entrenched and significant that the Government needs outside help to fix them.

“This is a call for the Government to get the help it desperately needs to address this crisis. I support that call, which is why I raised it in Question Time last week with the Health Minister.

“The signs of dysfunction in our health system are there for all Tasmanians to see. The system is broken, and we need every bit of help we can get to put it right.

“I urge the Minister to sit down with the AMA and HACSU and start discussing the terms of reference and appropriate format for an independent inquiry.

“As HACSU has pointed out, there are precedents in other jurisdictions for inquiries that are faster and less expensive. An inquiry that is genuinely independent, thorough and takes a holistic look at the problems does not necessarily have to take years or cost tens of millions of dollars.

“The Minister’s unwillingness to even engage in this discussion about the merits of an inquiry and what it might look like is indicative of the attitude this Government has demonstrated over the past 12 years – an attitude that has contributed to the crisis we now face.

“After 12 years, the Government cannot continue to dismiss the concerns of the people who work in our health system every day. It needs to listen, accept accountability and be prepared to bring in independent expertise to help deliver the change Tasmanians deserve.”