A lesson in budget management for the states

The announcement by John Howard that the Federal Government will take over the funding of the Mersey General Hospital in Tasmania, should offer State governments a valuable opportunity to stretch their budgets further.

The Tasmanian Government has downgraded the Mersey Hospital in Devonport after taking it back from private owners in 2004.  But it has upgraded facilities in Burnie, 60 kilometres away, with an expanded day surgery facility, and at the main hospital in Launceston.  The federal government has decided to underwrite a community-based proposal to keep Devonport’s Mersey hospital open as a fully-operational hospital.  This will will cost taxpayers between $40 million and $45 million a year.  But it will save locals a 60km trip to Burnie for hospital care had the hospital been downgraded to an GP-run community hospital and day surgery unit under state government plans.

The lesson for State governments is of course to drive their budget dollars further by letting key services and facilities in marginal federal government held electorates go to shit, and letting the Feds bail them out.  Only works in marginal seats though, so State treasurers, why waste money on them, put your money into your own marginals, and look after the voters in seats held safely by your own party.