Managing complex health issues, Brighton resident Marilyn Wiltshire was left high and dry when her local general practice clinic closed.
"I was absolutely distraught. I felt like I had Mt Wellington on my shoulders," she said.
Needing to see a doctor each month to receive her opioid medication and unable to drive, she was given a reprieve when another GP was able to squeeze her in, despite not taking on new patients.
But she still needs to book appointments three months in advance.
It's a tale cafe worker Jenaya Downham hears often.
"I hear people saying stuff about it all the time, that they can't get in," she said.
"They have to go to places like town and really far away and they have to ring up like six doctors to finally get one."
For Ms Wiltshire and fellow locals Julie Simpson and Barbara Prosser — who both commute more than 30 minutes to Howrah to see a doctor — a $1.5 million federal government promise to deliver an expanded Brighton GP clinic is an incredibly welcome one.
"They want to bring people out to the suburbs, for schools and kids and all that but we don't have the facilities, and medical is probably the top priority," Ms Prosser said.
"Something has to be done for this area."
What to expect in the federal budget
The expanded clinic is one of many promises the Labor Party made during this year's federal election campaign.
During a recent visit to the state, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insisted all of them will be delivered in full in Tuesday's federal budget.
The list of federal election pledges totals more than $760 million, but includes the following:
- $20m for a palliative care hospice in the state's north
- $15m towards the George Town aquatic centre
- $50m to zinc smelter Nyrstar to build a new $400m electrolysis plant at Lutana
- $20m to upgrade the Derwent River ferries and terminals
- $30m to upgrade the Mornington roundabout
- $100m towards tranche three of the Tasmanian irrigation scheme
- $60m to upgrade the Hobart Airport runway
Labor Lyons MP Brian Mitchell said the budget would deliver for the state.
"We are sticking by all our election commitments so I'm very confident that the budget will make clearer the pathway for that," he said.
"Of course, some will be funded over the next year, some will be funded over the forward estimates, but we've been very clear, we've made commitments and we're sticking by them."
But it won't include a stadium at Hobart's Macquarie Point, although Treasurer Jim Chalmers told News Corp that the door remained "open" for the project.
It's also not expected to include funding for the Marinus Link undersea electricity cable, due to its far-off construction date, despite Mr Albanese pledging to support it.
State government minister Felix Ellis said he was looking forward to the federal government's first budget.
"We've got a strong partnership with the federal government and we're looking forward to working closely with them on financial matters as they relate to Tasmania and the country," he said.
Skills shortage fix needed for $25b in pipeline
Master Builders Association chief executive Matthew Pollock said it was important the federal government invested in filling skills shortages in the construction industry, so the promised new projects could be built.
He said a large proportion of the 180,000 fee-free TAFE places promised by the government needed to go to the construction sector, and ultimately help to fill the gaps in Tasmania's workforce.
"It's something we very much need right now, particularly with the volume of the pipeline of work ahead of us in the next decade," he said.
"We currently have a pipeline of infrastructure projects in excess of $25 billion, that's unprecedented in terms of size and if done well it will drive our economy, but it will also deliver well-paid and rewarding careers to Tasmania."
Australian Medical Association state president Dr John Saul said the medical sector faced similar staffing shortfalls, with general practitioners thin on the ground, particularly in regional areas.
He welcomed the funding for the expanded Brighton clinic but said there needed to be changes to make it more attractive to be a general practitioner.
"It's just so hard to recruit at the moment, we've got a lot of doctors retiring, a lot of doctors choosing to do something other than general practice," he said.
"Private medicine is going well but bulk billing medicine is really in trouble," he said.
What we're finding is the people who most need a GP — our pensioners, our health care card holders, and our people with chronic diseases who can't work and can't afford to see a doctor — bulk billing is just so much under the pump at the moment and, unfortunately, practices are turning away from it.
"It's an unfortunate situation but hopefully we'll get some help from this budget."
