As Tasmania approaches its second state election in less than two years, voters should be asking one critical question of every candidate: how will you do health differently?
Our health system is at a tipping point. Like the rest of the world, Tasmania faces a perfect storm of challenges: an ageing population, a looming global shortage of healthcare workers, and the unsustainable cost of managing increasing levels of chronic disease.
Yet, despite these clear warning signs, our political discourse remains stuck in reactive, short-term thinking.
According to the Demographic Change Advisory Council (DCAC), by 2030 one in four Tasmanians will be aged 65 and over. This compares to ABS data from 2011, revealing one in six were over 65, representing an increase of nearly 60,000 people in under two decades.
While we might be living longer, those extra years are generally spent in poor health. We must create a health system that narrows the gap between our health span – that is the years spent in good health – and our lifespan.
Our aging population draws down heavier on the acute health system, consuming exponentially more of the health spend. This underlines the importance of targeted interventions and prevention measures to address healthcare needs, as many of these cases are driven by chronic illness that are largely preventable.
Despite this, currently less than three per cent of the health budget is allocated to preventive care. This is not only shortsighted, but also economically reckless. Chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are ballooning in cost and prevalence.
We need a visionary health strategy that prioritises keeping people well, not just treating them when they’re sick. It is not about spending more, it’s about spending smarter.
Further to this, by 2030 – just five years from now – the world will be short 10 million healthcare workers.
That’s not a distant problem – it’s a crisis already knocking on our door. Tasmania, with its ageing demographic and regional health disparities, is especially vulnerable. While the government has increased funding, training and recruitment of healthcare workers, this alone isn’t a smart pathway forward. We need to fundamentally change how our health system functions and look to new, more efficient models of care that adequately support our valuable healthcare workforce.
Other countries are already pivoting. They’re investing in community-based preventative care, digital health solutions, and workforce innovation. Australia, and indeed Tasmania must follow suit, or risk lagging even further behind.
This means reimagining how we train and deploy our health workforce, and it requires political courage. Candidates must move beyond platitudes and commit to structural reform.
Tasmanians deserve a health system that is proactive, equitable, and sustainable. This election is a chance to demand it. Voters should press every candidate on how they plan to tackle the health workforce crisis, invest in prevention, and reduce the burden of chronic disease in our state.
Doing health differently isn’t just a policy choice, it’s a moral imperative. The future of Tasmania’s wellbeing depends on it. We can lead the nation in health innovation, if only we are willing.
This is not a cost, it’s an investment in our own future and that of the next generation.
Paul Lupo is the CEO of Tasmanian not-for-profit St Lukes.