❓ The opposition questions the delay in building the new women's and babies' hospital, referencing a 2019 settlement. The Premier deflects, citing issues with the Perth Children's Hospital inherited from the previous government and defends the current plan.
AnsweredQoN 631Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WOMEN'S AND BABIES' HOSPITAL
631. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's comments regarding the new
women's and babies' hospital—that is, the government
wants to replace King Edward Memorial Hospital, which is over 100 years old, as
soon as possible.
(1) If the
Premier is so keen on building this hospital, why did the government not start
in 2019 when BHP provided a $230 million settlement towards its construction?
(2) Does the
Premier accept that had this project started in 2019, it would be almost
completed, as highlighted by the 10-year build time in the government's
own business case?
631. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's comments regarding the new
women's and babies' hospital—that is, the government
wants to replace King Edward Memorial Hospital, which is over 100 years old, as
soon as possible.
(1) If the
Premier is so keen on building this hospital, why did the government not start
in 2019 when BHP provided a $230 million settlement towards its construction?
(2) Does the
Premier accept that had this project started in 2019, it would be almost
completed, as highlighted by the 10-year build time in the government's
own business case?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2)
I remember 2019 very well. It was when we were trying to get the new Perth
Children's Hospital open. Unfortunately, that was not possible at the
time because, of course, the other mob left it with lead in the water and we
could not open it. We spent a lot of time just getting through that process.
When we came to government in 2017, we worked through 2017 and 2018 to bed down
the new children's hospital. It was still fresh on the campus and we
were just trying to get a lot of the issues right, particularly after the
project was so comprehensively stuffed up by you guys. I am reminded that the
original vision for the women's and
babies' hospital was that it was to be developed on the QEII site
before the children's hospital , but the Liberal–National government decided to jump ahead and
put the children's hospital there, replacing Princess Margaret
Hospital, which was already past its use-by date, before building the women's
and babies' hospital.
New governments never have a clean
canvas. They have to fix the problems they are confronted with from members on
the other side. As I said, they were monumental problems, but we opened that
hospital. In 2019, as we consolidated the activities at Perth Children's
Hospital, we bumped into 2020 and the rest, as they say, is history. Now that
we have come out of the COVID period, we are getting on with the task of
continuing to develop our hospital system to make sure that we continue to
provide world-class health care. We know
that the women and babies in this state would benefit most from having a new
women's and babies' hospital as soon as possible. The
fact is that to develop and forge ahead with the QEII site would simply mean
delays, complexities, disruptions and danger to the patients who are currently
receiving services at Perth Children's Hospital and Sir Charles
Gairdner Hospital. They are the facts that the opposition just does not like.
Why does it not like them? It is because members opposite love to be negative
and they want to oppose. They never come into this place with a solution. They
just come in with their negativity and whingeing. We never quite know where
they will go because when they bounce between the two, we can see the chaos and
dysfunction that is the Liberal and National Party alliance. We will continue
to forge ahead with the project at the Murdoch campus because we know that is
the right thing, and we will always do what is right for WA.
I remember 2019 very well. It was when we were trying to get the new Perth
Children's Hospital open. Unfortunately, that was not possible at the
time because, of course, the other mob left it with lead in the water and we
could not open it. We spent a lot of time just getting through that process.
When we came to government in 2017, we worked through 2017 and 2018 to bed down
the new children's hospital. It was still fresh on the campus and we
were just trying to get a lot of the issues right, particularly after the
project was so comprehensively stuffed up by you guys. I am reminded that the
original vision for the women's and
babies' hospital was that it was to be developed on the QEII site
before the children's hospital , but the Liberal–National government decided to jump ahead and
put the children's hospital there, replacing Princess Margaret
Hospital, which was already past its use-by date, before building the women's
and babies' hospital.
New governments never have a clean
canvas. They have to fix the problems they are confronted with from members on
the other side. As I said, they were monumental problems, but we opened that
hospital. In 2019, as we consolidated the activities at Perth Children's
Hospital, we bumped into 2020 and the rest, as they say, is history. Now that
we have come out of the COVID period, we are getting on with the task of
continuing to develop our hospital system to make sure that we continue to
provide world-class health care. We know
that the women and babies in this state would benefit most from having a new
women's and babies' hospital as soon as possible. The
fact is that to develop and forge ahead with the QEII site would simply mean
delays, complexities, disruptions and danger to the patients who are currently
receiving services at Perth Children's Hospital and Sir Charles
Gairdner Hospital. They are the facts that the opposition just does not like.
Why does it not like them? It is because members opposite love to be negative
and they want to oppose. They never come into this place with a solution. They
just come in with their negativity and whingeing. We never quite know where
they will go because when they bounce between the two, we can see the chaos and
dysfunction that is the Liberal and National Party alliance. We will continue
to forge ahead with the project at the Murdoch campus because we know that is
the right thing, and we will always do what is right for WA.
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