❓ Opposition questions the Health Minister about delays to the New Children's Hospital project, accusing the government of broken promises. The Minister blames the previous Labor government for inadequate planning and funding.
AnsweredQoN 144Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
NEW CHILDREN'S
HOSPITAL — completion date
144. Mr R.H. COOK to the Minister for Health:
I have a supplementary question. This commitment goes with
all the other commitments the Liberal Party made, such as this government would
build the new children's hospital by 2014. Given the minister's
broken promises on this issue, how can we trust him at all?
HOSPITAL — completion date
144. Mr R.H. COOK to the Minister for Health:
I have a supplementary question. This commitment goes with
all the other commitments the Liberal Party made, such as this government would
build the new children's hospital by 2014. Given the minister's
broken promises on this issue, how can we trust him at all?
AnswerView source ↗
I have been through the issue of the children's
hospital and how it came about. We said that it would be built by 2014. Members
can imagine that in the lead-up to the election there was a bit of jousting
over who would deliver what and when.
Mr R.H. Cook : And
so you lied; is that what you're saying?
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Using all the best and available information, we worked out the time it would
take us to build that hospital, which was by 2014. Once we came to government
we found that there were things the Labor Party had not told anyone and that
were not public knowledge. One of those things was that the new children's
hospital that the Labor government promised to deliver by —
Mr R.H. Cook : So
your broken promises are someone else's fault as well?
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Listen to this.
Mr R.H. Cook : Do
you take responsibility for anything?
Dr K.D. HAMES : The
member does not want to hear this, does he? The 2015 delivery date that the
Labor government announced required some buildings to be demolished. Buildings
L, N and M had to be demolished and rebuilt somewhere else so that the hospital
could be built on its current site. There were two things missing from that
plan. The first is that there was no money in the budget whatsoever to do it.
The Labor government did not have the money to build the hospital and rebuild
buildings L, N and M. It was a totally empty promise on the Labor Party's
part to build the hospital by 2015 because there was absolutely nothing in the
budget to fund it. Secondly, it would not fit. The Labor government had not
done its sums properly on the size of the hospital and it would not fit where
the L, N and M buildings were. The Labor government had not done a single
design, a single drawing or a single plan. It was like what the Labor
government did at Fiona Stanley Hospital. The day after a bulldozer had cleared
a bit of bush on the site, Jim McGinty went out there and announced that that
was the start of the hospital. The design had not even begun let alone been
finished, yet the then Minister for Health made the announcement after
bulldozing a bit of dirt. The Labor government announced that the new children's
hospital would be built by 2015, with zero money, and it had zero plans.
Several opposition members
interjected.
Dr
K.D. HAMES : The former government had nowhere near enough money for it. It
had $200 million or so sitting there for a $1.2 billion project. That was
pretty good planning! Luckily we now have a good Treasurer who can sort all
these things out.
hospital and how it came about. We said that it would be built by 2014. Members
can imagine that in the lead-up to the election there was a bit of jousting
over who would deliver what and when.
Mr R.H. Cook : And
so you lied; is that what you're saying?
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Using all the best and available information, we worked out the time it would
take us to build that hospital, which was by 2014. Once we came to government
we found that there were things the Labor Party had not told anyone and that
were not public knowledge. One of those things was that the new children's
hospital that the Labor government promised to deliver by —
Mr R.H. Cook : So
your broken promises are someone else's fault as well?
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Listen to this.
Mr R.H. Cook : Do
you take responsibility for anything?
Dr K.D. HAMES : The
member does not want to hear this, does he? The 2015 delivery date that the
Labor government announced required some buildings to be demolished. Buildings
L, N and M had to be demolished and rebuilt somewhere else so that the hospital
could be built on its current site. There were two things missing from that
plan. The first is that there was no money in the budget whatsoever to do it.
The Labor government did not have the money to build the hospital and rebuild
buildings L, N and M. It was a totally empty promise on the Labor Party's
part to build the hospital by 2015 because there was absolutely nothing in the
budget to fund it. Secondly, it would not fit. The Labor government had not
done its sums properly on the size of the hospital and it would not fit where
the L, N and M buildings were. The Labor government had not done a single
design, a single drawing or a single plan. It was like what the Labor
government did at Fiona Stanley Hospital. The day after a bulldozer had cleared
a bit of bush on the site, Jim McGinty went out there and announced that that
was the start of the hospital. The design had not even begun let alone been
finished, yet the then Minister for Health made the announcement after
bulldozing a bit of dirt. The Labor government announced that the new children's
hospital would be built by 2015, with zero money, and it had zero plans.
Several opposition members
interjected.
Dr
K.D. HAMES : The former government had nowhere near enough money for it. It
had $200 million or so sitting there for a $1.2 billion project. That was
pretty good planning! Luckily we now have a good Treasurer who can sort all
these things out.
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