Will Hodgman has pledged that every Tasmanian will benefit from the state’s improved economy, promising an extra $757m for the health system if re-elected.

The Tasmanian premier on Sunday officially launched the Liberals’ election campaign for the 3 March poll.

As part of a six-year plan, he said 298 new hospital beds would be created across the state, including 250 more at the Royal Hobart hospital once the rebuild is finished next year.

An extra 1,332 new full-time equivalent staff would be employed in the hospitals and health system.

“It is the biggest ever boost to healthcare in the state’s history,” Hodgman told several hundred party faithful at an aircraft hangar north of Hobart. “This is only possible because we have kick-started our economy as we said we would because have worked bloody hard to get our economy back into balance.

“Tasmanians can trust us to manage the state’s finances well.”

However, the opposition leader, Rebecca White, who has declared health her party’s top priority, criticised Sunday’s announcement as a “con job”.

Labor has already unveiled a $560m, six-year package to fix the state’s health “crisis”.

“The only time [Liberal health minister Michael Ferguson] has responded to the cries for help from the health workforce is on the eve on an election,” White said.

She was in Launceston on Sunday to talk up Labor’s $60m roads package.

At the campaign launch, Hodgman again pleaded for voters to return a majority Liberal government.

“Today I am asking Tasmanians to give us another four years so that we can continue the job that we started,” the premier said.