❓ Ms. Sanderson asks why taking practical completion of Perth Children's Hospital is in the best interest of taxpayers. The Minister for Health responds that it allowed the government to address lead contamination issues the builder refused to fix, while also criticising the previous government's handling of the project.
AnsweredQoN 590Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PERTH CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL —
PRACTICAL COMPLETION
590. Ms A. SANDERSON to the Minister for
Health:
I refer to this government's
decision to take practical completion of the Perth Children's Hospital.
Can the minister reiterate, for the benefit of those opposite, why this is in
the best interest of taxpayers?
PRACTICAL COMPLETION
590. Ms A. SANDERSON to the Minister for
Health:
I refer to this government's
decision to take practical completion of the Perth Children's Hospital.
Can the minister reiterate, for the benefit of those opposite, why this is in
the best interest of taxpayers?
AnswerView source ↗
At
least we know the member for Morley is on the side of the Western Australian
government and Western Australian people.
We took practical completion at
Perth Children's Hospital so that we could fix the lead in the hospital
because the builder refused do so. The builder refused do so and the opposition
should stop taking the side of the builder and start putting Western Australians
first. The fact of the matter remains that without practical completion, we
could not have got into that hospital to begin the polyphosphate treatment
process and undertake the work that the Chief Health Officer did to identify
the source of the lead contamination and the potential solutions to it.
Mr
F.M. Logan : They know that.
Mr
R.H. COOK : They know it. The fact of the matter is that by taking practical
completion, we took control of the site and we are now in there remediating the
issues. It is true to say that a number of other defects remain that the
builder is liable for and that prevent the hospital opening at this time at any
rate.
Mr
A. Krsticevic interjected.
Mr
R.H. COOK : Why did the member's government not fix them in the time
it said it would in the first place? The fact of the matter is that we are here
to fix his party's incompetence in government.
We are trying to continue to
undertake the remediation process. There was a period when the polyphosphate
treatment process was paused. During that time, we saw the lead levels elevated.
They have come back down since we have retreated the process. But what that
indicates conclusively is that if we did not take practical completion and did
not start to treat the water through the polyphosphate treatment process, we
would still be at square one, which is where we were when we came into office.
The fact of the matter is that we are going about now remediating the problems
with that and fixing the problem through these solutions. As I mentioned
earlier, we have undertaken a range of works for replacement of components of
the thermostatic mixing valve assembly boxes. We have done some preliminary
testing of them and the trial shows improvement in lead levels in the water
where the stainless steel has been used. It is not statistically significant so
we have not reported on them at this stage, but we will keep replacing the
noncompliant parts. That includes the isolation valves in the ceilings and tap
spouts, which were noncompliant in the first place —
Mr
A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine, your voice is becoming very boring. I call you to order for the second
time.
Mr
R.H. COOK : I can confirm for the member for Morley that we have taken
practical completion because that is what was required in order for us to take
control of the site and treat the lead in the water.
least we know the member for Morley is on the side of the Western Australian
government and Western Australian people.
We took practical completion at
Perth Children's Hospital so that we could fix the lead in the hospital
because the builder refused do so. The builder refused do so and the opposition
should stop taking the side of the builder and start putting Western Australians
first. The fact of the matter remains that without practical completion, we
could not have got into that hospital to begin the polyphosphate treatment
process and undertake the work that the Chief Health Officer did to identify
the source of the lead contamination and the potential solutions to it.
Mr
F.M. Logan : They know that.
Mr
R.H. COOK : They know it. The fact of the matter is that by taking practical
completion, we took control of the site and we are now in there remediating the
issues. It is true to say that a number of other defects remain that the
builder is liable for and that prevent the hospital opening at this time at any
rate.
Mr
A. Krsticevic interjected.
Mr
R.H. COOK : Why did the member's government not fix them in the time
it said it would in the first place? The fact of the matter is that we are here
to fix his party's incompetence in government.
We are trying to continue to
undertake the remediation process. There was a period when the polyphosphate
treatment process was paused. During that time, we saw the lead levels elevated.
They have come back down since we have retreated the process. But what that
indicates conclusively is that if we did not take practical completion and did
not start to treat the water through the polyphosphate treatment process, we
would still be at square one, which is where we were when we came into office.
The fact of the matter is that we are going about now remediating the problems
with that and fixing the problem through these solutions. As I mentioned
earlier, we have undertaken a range of works for replacement of components of
the thermostatic mixing valve assembly boxes. We have done some preliminary
testing of them and the trial shows improvement in lead levels in the water
where the stainless steel has been used. It is not statistically significant so
we have not reported on them at this stage, but we will keep replacing the
noncompliant parts. That includes the isolation valves in the ceilings and tap
spouts, which were noncompliant in the first place —
Mr
A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine, your voice is becoming very boring. I call you to order for the second
time.
Mr
R.H. COOK : I can confirm for the member for Morley that we have taken
practical completion because that is what was required in order for us to take
control of the site and treat the lead in the water.
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