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Delays have already hit the new Royal Hobart
Hospital project amid concerns it will be yet
another to suffer at the hands of Labor
mismanagement.
Leader of the Opposition, Will Hodgman, said he was
surprised the Treasurer, Michael Aird, was now
saying that no decisions about funding for the new
hospital would be made this year.
Premier, Paul Lennon, told Parliament in his State
of the State address:
“The Treasurer and
Minister for Health and Human Services have been
charged with reporting back to Cabinet by no later
than 30 April 2007 on a new site and a new Royal
Hobart Hospital.”
Mr Aird told the Legislative Council on October 17
last year:
“The Minister for Health and myself have been asked
to report to Cabinet by April next year. That is
when we would expect to have concluded our
considerations, at least in a large part, of the way
we might fund them.”
Mr Hodgman said the task before the Treasurer may be
more difficult than he and the Premier, Paul Lennon,
had previously thought, highlighting the knee-jerk
nature of their decision.
“A year ago, at the election, the Premier said a new
hospital couldn’t and wouldn’t be built, and the
then Economic Development Minister, Lara Giddings,
said it shouldn’t be built. After the election, they
both announced they would build a new hospital,
while continuing to spend large sums of money
upgrading the existing hospital,” Mr Hodgman said.
“They also announced a new hospital without saying
where it should be built, how much it would cost, or
how they would pay for it.
“Now the Treasurer is saying no funding decisions
will be made this year.
“He is saying on radio today that all funding
options are on the table, but at the same time he
has ruled out debt, along with the sale of the Hydro
“It appears the Treasurer lacks any cohesive plan.”
Mr Hodgman said debt should not be ruled out as a
form of funding for the hospital, because the
hospital will be a cross-generational asset.
Further information:
Will Hodgman: 0439 482 931
Georgia Warner 0418 564
073
Ref…royal.feb2801gw
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