Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy President. The point has been well made here in the chamber. They are interjecting over something that was said by the Premier of Tasmania, which was reported in the newspaper and which is relevant to the issue of health, the funding of health and the pressure that this government is putting on states when it keeps cutting the funding. A cut of $2.7 billion from the Tasmanian health budget over the next four years is an enormous amount of money—and it is unacceptable.

We need to ensure that pressure is kept on this government when it comes to the effect that their cuts are having. These are real effects. The impact of these cuts will affect people's decisions as to whether they choose to have their blood tests and whether they choose to have a CAT scan. Unlike those of us in this place, some people really do not have the money to spend on these extra costs.