TAS ELECTION: ASTHMA AUSTRALIA CALLS FOR INVESTMENT IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES, SUPPORT FOR AIR QUALITY EDUCATION
20 Feb 2024
With an election announced,
Asthma Australia is calling on candidates and an incoming government to commit to and invest in
Asthma Australia’s plan to improve asthma supports in Tasmania.
Asthma Australia CEO Michele Goldman said that Tasmania must advance asthma supports available
outside of primary and acute care settings and in the community where health, wellbeing and cost
outcomes can be dramatically improved.
“Unmanaged asthma has a significant impact on people’s lives and the healthcare system. In 2019
more than 1,000 Tasmanians were hospitalised with asthma (2), with 80 per cent of these
hospitalisations potentially preventable,” Ms Goldman said (3).
Asthma Australia’s 2024-2025 Pre-Budget Submission identified three funding priorities to increase
investment in respiratory health. These are:
- Increased support for a continued Asthma Management Program to help people with
asthma and their carers manage their asthma according to best practice and with evidence based
information. - Support for a new initiative, the Asthma Smart Community Model, which has been trialled in
other jurisdictions, and which we believe will benefit those Tasmanians and their carers who
have asthma and will reduce demands on the health system. - Funding for AirSmart, a national public education campaign that aims to provide people with
information, tools and strategies for people to minimise or avoid exposure to unhealthy air.
“Tasmanians have told us that they want the tools to more confidently manage their own care in a
supportive environment. We also know that creating educated and sympathetic communities with
clean air means the burden and impact of asthma can be dramatically reduced.
“Asthma Australia is committed to halving the number of avoidable asthma hospital presentations
by 2030. We believe that by listening to those living with asthma and designing solutions with them,
people with asthma can live freely, unrestricted by their asthma. We are calling on all candidates this
election to make that same commitment to the people of Tasmania.”
Asthma Australia’s Tasmanian 2024-25 Pre-Budget Submission is available here:
https://asthma.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AA-2024-25-Tasmanian-Pre-Budget-Submission-pdf.pdf
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