Will Hodgman

Revelations today in the Examiner newspaper by Health Minister Michelle O’Byrne that health will not make its savings targets this year, and will need to go cap in hand to Treasury begging for more funds, confirms the folly of Labor and the Greens’ cruel cuts to frontline health.

Instead of pushing ahead with these cruel and unnecessary cuts, Labor and the Greens should adopt the Liberals’ nearly $200 million in alternative cuts to other, non-essential and non-frontline areas of government expenditure.

Given Ms Giddings’ repeated claims that there was no alternative to cuts in health, including as recently as today on ABC radio when she said “there literally is no more money”, the Premier must explain where this additional money for health, as flagged by the Health Minister today, is coming from.

Will the State go into debt? Will the funds be ripped out of education, or police?

Or will the Premier finally do the right thing, wind back the cruel cuts to health, and instead adopt our nearly $200 million in alternative savings?