Premier Jeremy Rockliff is facing accusations of breaking an election promise over funding for the North West Regional Hospital, with Labor claiming the money he pledged isn’t in the latest state budget.
On July 1 last year, the Premier stood beside a cancer patient and committed an additional $117 million to fully fund and fast-track the first stage of the hospital’s master plan, taking the total commitment from $57 million to $174.8 million.
The promise included expanded cancer, dialysis and diagnostic services for the North West by 2030.
Labor says Rockliff promised at the time that if he couldn’t secure federal funding, he’d “lock in funding to provide certainty to the North West and ensure these important projects will be delivered.”
But Labor’s Anita Dow, the member for Braddon, said the budget tells a different story.
“Fast-forward to last week’s budget and there’s no money in the budget related to this commitment,” Dow said.
She said the project now appears in a section of the budget papers listing items dependent on federal funding.
“If you make a commitment to the people of Tasmania and the people of Braddon, particularly when you’re standing with someone who’s vulnerable and who’s been undergoing cancer treatment, you should uphold that commitment,” she said.
In parliament, Rockliff pushed back against the criticism.
“We are committed to a 20 year master plan for the North West Hospital,” he said.
He said the government was “getting on with the job of completing the first stage of the North West Hospitals Master Plan, which is a 20 year vision to transform healthcare to meet the future needs of the community.”
He pointed to existing commitments including $40 million for a new mental health precinct and $16.9 million for an expanded emergency department.
However, when shadow treasurer Dean Winter asked Treasurer Eric Abetz to identify where the $117 million election promise was funded in the budget, Abetz couldn’t do so and said he’d seek to get back to the member.
Dow said the hospital was “bursting at the seams” and the broken promise would hurt cancer patients and families across the North West coast.
“There is a need for infrastructure upgrades right across that campus,” she said.
“The emergency department is in dire need of an upgrade and more space so that people can be treated through the emergency department.”
Dow said she wouldn’t be surprised if the project was pushed out further, pointing to the government’s track record on infrastructure delivery.
