How do we build a preventative health strategy that actually lasts and works for Tasmania for the next 20 years?
We're in the middle of a consultation process right now. And it’s worth asking: Can a strategy that needs to adapt to emerging health needs, disruptions, and community shifts really live inside government machinery?
I’m not sure it can.
Prevention isn’t built for bureaucracy. It happens face to face, in real time, in community. It can’t wait six months for a policy review.
That’s why I keep coming back to the idea of a statutory authority. An independent body with its own board, focused solely on prevention. Let government play a key role, but not the lead. Create the conditions, offer funding, connect the dots, then step back. Let leadership come from the people doing the work. And that includes private providers.
We often talk about collaboration across public, private and not for profit sectors, but we rarely resource it properly. Why do private providers get invited inside the tent for acute care, but are fenced out when it comes to prevention and health promotion? There’s a ready and skilled workforce in the private sector. Dietitians, psychologists, yoga instructors, project managers. Qualified professionals working in community. But grant guidelines often block them out. That’s a huge missed opportunity.Imagine if the people helping us stay well were resourced the way we fund those who step in once we’re already sick.
Not just in clinics, but out in community spaces where people feel safe and seen. Imagine if the yoga instructor keeping someone healthy was the one driving the Porsche, not just the cardiac surgeon doing the repair job later.
If we want real collaboration, we need to stop treating private providers like outsiders. Give them a seat at the table alongside government and not for profits. We all bring something different. And without each other, we’ll always be missing pieces of the puzzle.
If we want a strategy that lasts, it needs to be locked in:
A statutory authority
A legislated preventive health mandate
A dedicated 5 percent of the health budget
Funding for on the groundwork, not just government desks.
We talk a lot about prevention. Maybe this is how we finally start doing it properly.