Victoria’s next government faces urgent pressure to curb runaway health spending to begin repairing the state’s finances, even as both major parties unveil billions of dollars in health promises during an election-year splurge that economists have repeatedly warned the budget cannot sustain.
As Victoria heads into the final four weeks of the election campaign, Labor and the Coalition have already promised $2.2 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively, in health commitments – about 30 per cent of their total promises – despite the state spending almost $3 billion a year more on healthcare than it “needs to”.
Gift articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.
