Opposition Leader Mark McGowan questions Premier Colin Barnett about delays to the Fiona Stanley Hospital opening, specifically regarding IT issues and alleged misleading statements before the election. The Premier defends his actions and focuses on the hospital's commissioning.

AnsweredQoN 58Legislative Assembly
Asked
26 February 2014
Portfolio
Premier

QuestionView source ↗

FIONA STANLEY HOSPITAL — BASELINE SCHEDULE
REPORT
58. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I ask a supplementary question. If,
as the Premier just acknowledged, he knew that there would be a delay to the
hospital, why did he not take action to mitigate the losses, and why did he not
reveal that fact in the lead-up to the last state election, instead of saying
it was on time?

AnswerView source ↗

I did not say that.
Mr
M. McGowan : Yes, you did. You said you knew that the IT was going to take
longer.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Yes, the IT was complicated. I visited also, a couple of
months ago, the new children's hospital in Melbourne. Exactly the same
issues happened there. They made a different decision. They made a decision to
move in with the IT system not fully operational. So they are running a bit of
a hybrid, if we like, between their old system and their new system. That was
for the children's hospital in Melbourne. They are still working on
refining their IT.
Yes, I was aware that there were IT
issues with Fiona Stanley. Everyone was aware—surely the Leader of the
Opposition was, too. It was quite well known that there were IT issues.
Several members interjected.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, what is the point of this? All members opposite
can talk about is a matter of history, when the real task is to get the
hospital commissioned, get the IT system fully operational and make sure it is
safe for patients, and get the patients and the clinical staff into the
hospital. That is what good government is. That is what we are doing.

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