The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, is calling on the Labor-Greens State Government to immediately put an end to so much of the work on the Royal Hobart Hospital rebuild going to mainland workers.
“The $565 million rebuild of the Royal Hobart Hospital is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the State’s history and a critically important boost during tough economic times,” Mr Wilkie said.
“But already most of the design and engineering work has gone to mainland firms and the lead managing contractor is an Australian multi-national.
“And now we learn that the managing contractor is seeking expressions of interest for sub-contract work from mostly mainland firms.
“This is simply not good enough from a Labor-Greens State Government which really should be putting the interests of Tasmanian firms and Tasmanian workers ahead of mainlanders.
“More political mumbo-jumbo explanations from the State Government is not what Tasmanians need to hear right now. Instead we need an unambiguous commitment to stop this practice immediately and ensure the vast bulk of future contracts go to Tasmanian firms and Tasmanian workers.
“This issue has now been raised with me by many local businesses, most of whom are more than up to the job of helping rebuild Tasmania’s main hospital.”
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Comments (7)
Andrew, your heart was in the right direction, but you succumbed to the ideological elites lies and with that, got conned again. You deal with the devil, (ideology) and you get stabbed in the back. It’s not something new, but a glaring fact supported by centuries of ideological dealings.
Until we have a non ideologically controlled government run directly by the people, nothing will change. Society can’t evolve when it revolves around lies, corruption and deceit, destroying our state and country for delusionary power. Whilst caring for nothing but elitist egocentricity and ideological greed.
Why are you aligning yourself with these primitive minded fools, unless you wish to be part of the cause of the growing chaos and accompanying sociological collapse. Did you actually expect they would give you what you asked for and benefit the people of Tas, when the historical facts state clearly the opposite. If so then you got conned again.
Well argued Andrew. the ALP Greens government should be supporting Tasmania. Thank you for advancing the cause of States rights. We need someone to fight for Tasmania and you are great at doing so. I pray that you retain your seat of Denison.
AK, I suspect I get the thrust of your argument, but isn’t your idea of how society should move forward nothing but another ideology as well?
I am not saying that is a bad thing, just that it is.
An ideology is a belief in something fanciful and fictional, not reality. Ideologies don’t evolve, just remain stagnant and fixed in their approach and outcomes. A people powered and controlled society is an evolution which would change and adapt as circumstances demand. Because you have an input which has a a great variety of idea;s and understandings, it progresses and grows, never getting the chance to stagnate or remain fixed in some delusional never happening outcome, which is why ideologies fail at every thing they undertake.
With direct people power, ideological elitist minorities can’t corrupt or manipulate to their advantage. In this 21st century, the ordinary person is much more informed and knowledgeable about life than all the ideological academics, politicians and bureaucrats put together. The results are for all to see.
Andrew Wilkie is trying to get results, but his approach and outcomes are what others determine not him or the people. He would be much more successful if he had not joined labor, but let the two factions of the la/lb coalition fight it out and he introduce legislation which represented the peoples desires and approaches. If that were the case with all the independents, then this election we may have had some decent and really independent people to vote for. As it is they have all become party hacks doing the bidding of a corrupt and destructive ideology, against the wishes of those who elected them.
This crap about establishing a stable government is just more ideological deceit, all it has done is entrenched the incumbents for many more years and lowered the status of the supposed independents to party slaves.
The people are really pissed off about that deception and will say so in their vote, once again putting more power into the hands of the destroyers to rape, pillage the land and destroy society for what, money, vested interests greed and political egos.
The independents were elected because the people didn’t want to elect a party hack, what did they end up with, party hacks. Which is what Andrew has become, not a representative of the people who elected him. He is sticking by his agreement with labor, but failing in his agreement to represent the people and not a party.
As sponsored at another TT piece #4 is getting even more appealing as Premier, Now!
All this is beside the point. Andrew has obtained a large sum of money for an extremely important project, and the state government are evidently not putting Tasmanian jobs and contractors first. They might well argue that they are getting cheaper deals from the Mainland, therefore saving us money in the immediate term (mind you, I don’t know if they are saying this—it’s the only possible justification for not giving Tasmanians priority). That is nevertheless a false argument. Even if Tas contractors are more expensive, at least the money stays in the state and gets our own economy working.
A strange definition of ideology AK. My OED says: “a system of ideas concerning phenomena, esp. those of social life…” To enter politics without some sort of ideology would make one totally unpredictable and unaccountable. Not a good idea.
How is Tasmanian Labor-Greens offshoring work on the Royal Hobart Hospital to the mainland any different from Tasmanian business and workers and different to last month Telstra’s Sensis or QBE Insurance outsourcing to the Philippines?
Such Labor-Greens politicians can walk amongst Tasmanians in the street?