Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has made clear his party will campaign hard on health leading up to the next federal election.
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Mr Shorten addressed delegates on the last day of the state Labor party conference in Hobart and recommitted to a $30 million pledge to reduce elective surgery waiting lists.
He said this would work to cut waiting lists in half for a start.
Mr Shorten said Tasmanians avoided regular visits to general practitioners because out-of-pocket costs had increased by 26 per cent which meant ailments could potentially see them in acute hospital beds or in emergency departments.
“One in 10 Tasmanians do not see there GP because they can’t afford it,” he said.
Mr Shorten reiterated the Labor Party’s pledge to recommit $30 million to reducing elective surgery waiting lists.
He said Tasmanians should not have to fly interstate to get treatment and the country was moving nearer towards a user-pays system “where getting sick means going broke.”
