HEALTHCARE SHOULDN’T BE THIS HARD TO ACCESS.

Clinics closing down, out of pocket expenses going up. GP shortages mean longer waits. General health is poor, and many people can’t afford dental, health care and even healthy food.

The Royal Hobart Hospital upgrade was meant to change things but today we have an overloaded system on the brink of break down. The private maternity ward at the RHH has just shut down with hospital operator Healthscope claiming its due to lack of staff.  The Australian Midwifery Federation raised concerns about “appalling conditions” on the ward.

It’s not just about a lack of funding, but bad decision making.

I’ll fight for:

Urgent Relief

• New Mental Health Care Precincts: I would fight for federal funding for a dedicated mental health precinct in a green fields development in Clarence with extensive, landscaped gardens where patients can find the tranquility they need for recovery.
• Step Down Care: Tasmania lacks beds for low care patients no longer in need of high care at the Royal Hobart Hospital. I advocate for a “step-down” facility in Hobart’s old Rehab Hospital that would reduce and eliminate bed blockages in one go.
• Elective Surgery: Dedicated elective day surgery facility to improve efficiency and patient flow and overcome delays and repeated “bumping” of patients from surgery lists.
• Urgent Care Clinics – 3 more urgent care clinics in Kingborough, the Huon Valley and the Eastern Shore that reduce waiting times and the load on the Royal Hobart.
• Bring Health Care to the People with Mobile Clinics– Roll out vans with GPs, nurses, and basic diagnostics to hit remote spots like Dover or Bruny Island. Think diabetes and blood pressure checks. Early intervention can save lives.
• Aged Care at Home– Expand in-home nursing and meal delivery to seniors to free up emergency beds and have a plan in place before our old folk need an ambulance.

Preventative Care

• Dental Care into Medicare– Fixing people’s teeth reduces the chance of chronic illness later in life.
• Kids’ Health– Free dental and vision checks in schools to catch problems early. Poor teeth, eyesight and diet directly affect learning and health-related bills are a burden to struggling families.
• Support Healthy Lifestyles – Make it easier for people to access and afford healthy food and exercise (cheap processed food is a symptom of a high cost-of-living). Educate kids about healthy lifestyle and you’ll bring the parents with them.

Martyn Goddard on Health Policy

 “Every element of our health system is in deep crisis. The cost is falling not on the politicians who refuse to do their job but on ordinary Australians who are paying with their health and, too often, their lives.

“The chaos in emergency departments, overcrowding on wards, the failures in mental health, the decline of Medicare, are all down to successive federal governments who refuse to provide the money and the vision to fix the system.

“We are a rich country but we spend much less on health than similar nations. Where are the ideas? Where is the leadership?

“Only the Commonwealth has the resources to make a real difference. But the current timid, risk-averse Labor government will not deliver genuine reform unless they’re forced into it.”

 WHY IS AUSTRALIA THE WORST CONTRIBUTOR PER CAPITA TOWARDS CLIMATE CHANGE, AND WHY IS HOBART IN DANGER?

What we know:

Franklin is on the front line of climate change with rising temperatures, altered rainfall patterns, and increased bushfire risk. Sea levels are rising while our island waters are warming four times faster than the global average.

We’re ever more vulnerable to natural disasters- yet we are woefully underprepared. And while communities like ours are already feeling the impacts, Australia is also part of the problem on a global scale.

Nationally, Australia has a global carbon footprint which far exceeds our economic size and population. We contribute around 4.5% of global fossil carbon dioxide emissions, with 80% of those emissions coming from its fossil fuel exports. Yet we’re just 0.3% of the global population.*

How to get to work:

Climate change is here now, and Franklin needs to adapt quickly and build resilience.

• National Climate Action Fund- Creating a National Climate Action Fund to build resilience (prevention and recovery including insurance) against the climate crisis with a special focus on Southern Tasmania.
• Invest in Fire Preparation: More firebreaks and buffers, controlled burns, early warning systems, grants for fire-resistant upgrades, fund firefighters and equipment properly, have a plan for worst case scenarios. Establish fire-resistant community centres and push for affordable insurance premiums in high-risk zones.

Australia’s reliance on coal, gas and ore exports makes us a major contributor to global emissions. It’s time to shift that model and build prosperity through clean industries, electrification and sustainable energy.

• Electrification and Renewables- Support sustainable renewable energy developments to boost the transition away from fossil fuels to renewables, and increase electrification of our resources to boost energy security.
• Emissions Reduction- Working with similarly minded members of parliament to change Australia from a laggard to a leader on climate change, accelerating the emissions reduction ambition to 75% reduction by 2035 and urgently focus on methane emissions.^**
• No New Coal, Gas and Nuclear- Supporting all moves to stop any new coal mines and any further gas drilling or building of nuclear power plants.

* Climate Analytics

^{** Targets, Pathways and Progress Paper}

WHY ARE OUR EDUCATION OUTCOMES SO BAD?

What we know:

Our education is one of the most important determinants in our lives. It must enable opportunity for well-paid work, increased citizenship and personal satisfaction to our children. It should also help future generations who have the best-possible upbringing in terms of home income and parental support.

Tragically, only 3 in 5 students at the moment reach a satisfactory literacy level in NAPLAN testing. Inadequate reading skills hold us back in every area of our lives. Tasmania has the highest proportion of disadvantaged students in Australia. Struggling at school can lead to poor attendance, poor behaviour and the lack of precious skills for the future. 

Our teachers and principals are the match of any in Australia. They need an administration that will foster innovation and  empower teachers to truly engage with students in what should be an exciting learning journey rather than a ‘one size fits all curriculum’.

My priorities will be:

Teaching

• Invest in teachers- Raise the status of teachers by giving them the support they need to succeed, including expert literacy teachers in every school, funding for ongoing professional development, and flexibility to tailor their programs to students’ needs.
• Empower behaviour management- Empower teachers in behaviour management strategies- including restricting the use of phones and student devises based on curriculum needs

Funding

• Fully fund public schools – Through combined State and Federal investment.
• Continue fee-free TAFE – To support Tasmanians to access important skills.
• Support free first university degrees– View education as an investment, not a cost.

Supporting Students and Families

• Back to School Bonus – Support families with a means-tested back-to-school bonus for kids staying on beyond Year 10 (means tested).
• School lunch programs – Support school lunch programs to take pressure off parents and help establish healthy habits.
• Create pathways – Build stronger links between schools, local industries, and training providers to prepare students for meaningful work.

WHY IS THE COST OF LIVING OUT OF CONTROL?

What we know:

Cost of living is front of mind for most Australians, but especially Tasmanians. In Tasmania, we earn less than any other state but pay more for basics. The average family of four spends between $200-$250 per week for basics making us 9.32% higher than the Australian average. 

The system is broken when multinational corporations get tax breaks and record profits, while Tasmanians are left to carry the load. We need practical reforms that actually lower prices, increase fairness and give people room to breathe.

Australia has the resources to provide a decent life for everyone—but we need a system that puts people before profit, and long-term stability before short-term gain.

Addressing the cost of living means action in many areas. We can’t talk about cost of living without talking about health, housing and education, which you can read more about on this page.

How to get to work:

Lower Supply Chain Costs

• Reduce supply chain costs- Increase and reform the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme to reduce transport costs from the mainland, but ensure subsidies lower prices at the checkout, not just boost profits for big retailers.
• Incentivize local food production- Remove red tape so growers can sell produce directly to the public. Reform food safety laws to enable slaughtering on the farm with proper regulation- which would boost productivity in the Huon Valley.
• Invest in shared community growing plots– Enable more households to grow their own fresh food and reduce grocery dependence.

Stronger Consumer Protections

• Strengthen the ACCC’s powers to investigate and prosecute price gouging– Especially regarding essential goods.
• Introduce a mandatory supermarket code of conduct- With real penalties for predatory pricing and supply chain abuse.
• Act on the Senate inquiry into supermarket pricing—Break the Woolworths/Coles duopoly^[1] by encouraging expansion of independent grocers and alternative retail models like co-ops and farmers markets.

Fair Pricing & Income Support

• Limits on key cost increases- Ensure household budgets aren’t constantly falling behind by limiting cost increases on the essentials: power, rent, education, and rates.
• Provide targeted tax relief– Provide releief for low and middle-income earners, particularly during high-inflation periods.
• Lift JobSeeker and related payments above the poverty line– Lift payments and index them to the cost of living to ensure a dignified standard of living.
• Increase financial incentives for installation of domestic solar panels- Incentivize housing improvements like solar, insulation and double glazing, including for rental properties.

Tax Reform that Works for People

• Close tax loopholes for big corporations and foreign-owned companies– Foreign owned companies shouldn’t be profiting from Australian resources while paying little tax here.
• Broaden the tax base– In line with the Henry Review, 2009. “Australia’s tax system is in a worse position than it was 15 years ago and young people are paying the price.”^[2]
• Re-index income tax brackets to inflation- Prevent bracket creep and let people keep more of what they earn.
• Review tax concessions—Review concessions like those for capital gains and superannuation—to ensure intergenerational fairness and fiscal sustainability.

^[1]  The competition regulator has found Woolworths and Coles are some of the most profitable supermarket retailers in the world and their margins have increased since the pandemic. https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/woolworths-coles-among-world-s-most-profitable-supermarkets-accc-20250320-p5ll6g

^[2] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-15/ken-henry-australias-tax-system-in-worse-position-after-15-years/103465044?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

A STRONG SOCIETY RELIES ON VALUING DIVERSITY.

 I have reported extensively in countries where strong women are the cornerstone of  their society but are consistent victims of violence and enforced exclusion as result of cultural norms, I have reported on genital mutilation, bride burning, rape in war and female infanticide hoping to raise awareness of the global scourge and that we might look more closely at our own failings on gender-based violence and exclusion.

But awareness alone is not enough. We must empower women and girls to fully participate in every part of society. This demands much greater focus at all levels of education, long-term funding, and cross-party political will to break down systemic barriers and create lasting change.

My priorities will include:

• Funding for protection from gender-based violence- Funding to provide support, shelter and legal remedies for those in need of protection from all gender-based and family violence
• Specialist training- Specialist training (ie. Safe and Together Institute) for all judicial officers (police, lawyers, magistrates and judges) who deal with family matters, especially in matters of gender based violence.
• Combatting Poverty – Initiatives designed to ensure we combat the normalization of women in poverty.  For example, I’ll fight for affordable and subsidised childcare for women in the workforce to ensure women are able to work.
• Medical Support – Provision of effective pathways to pregnancy termination and greater access to IVF through public clinics in Tasmania and across Australia.
• Equal Rights – Building equity and a safe society for trans and gender diverse (TGD) people.

AUSTRALIA MUST STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.

Having spent a good deal of my life working as a reporter in the Middle East, including as the first ABC correspondent in the region from the 1908s, I have firsthand knowledge of the plight of the Palestinian people.

I have reported for Four Corners, Foreign Correspondent and ABC radio and TV news from the region. I have spent considerable time in Gaza and the West Bank and met with Fatah, Hamas and leaders of other Palestinian movements. I met with and filmed many Israelis and Israeli leaders.

I support the UN General Assembly’s repeated call:

The attainment by the Palestinian people of its legitimate inalienable rights, including the right to return, the right to self-determination and the right to establish its own independent State in Palestine;

My views are as follows:

• The occupation of Palestinian lands is illegal under international law.
• Evidence indicates Israeli actions in Gaza since October 2023 amount to acts of genocide, a crime under international law.
• Any plan to remove Palestinians from Gaza would amount to ethnic cleansing.
• Israel’s long occupation of Gaza, its subsequent sealing off of the territory and its increasingly harsh repression in other occupied territories has resulted in increasing militancy and support for militancy.
• Israel was complicit in the emergence of Hamas as a counterweight to Fatah, Yasser Arafat’s liberation movement.
• I support UN Security Council Resolution 242 of 1967, accepted by Israel and Arab states, which would fulfil Palestinian aspirations and inalienable rights to self-determination in an internationally recognised state.
• I support UN Genera Assembly resolution 1514 of 1960 that subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation constitutes a denial of fundamental human rights.
  
  

  If elected, I will fight for:

• An immediate and permanent ceasefire, the release of Palestinians detained without trial or held after closed trials, and the release of Israelis held in captivity in Gaza.
• The release from Israeli jail of Marwan Barghouti, a potential unifying voice for Palestinians and interlocutor with Israel and the international community.
• Supporting the ICC + ICJ should be supported in carrying out their designated roles.
• Australia should speak clearly to this and should exert its influence through bilateral and multilateral relations to bring pressure to bear on Israel to cease its actions against the Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank.
• A ban on weapons-related exports to Israel until a permanent ceasefire is achieved and medical and food supplies are restored to Gaza.
• A ban anyone who encourages of enables illegal settlement in Palestinian Territories from entering Australia.
• PLEASE NOTE:
• Muslims and Jews in Australia are not responsible for the actions of foreign governments.
• The targeting of Islamic institutions and Muslim people and the targeting of Jewish people and institutions in Australia is reprehensible and offenders should be prosecuted.
• I abhor any form of antisemitism, Islamophobia or any form of discrimination based on race and religion.