Michael Ferguson: Royal Hobart Hospital Rescue Team

There is only one plan for the redevelopment of the Royal Hobart Hospital, and that’s the Liberal Government’s rescue plan.

We have the support of key health professionals, the Independent Member for Denison Andrew Wilkie and the Tasmanian Greens.

That level of support is strongly reflected in the stakeholders who are only too willing to be a part of the Royal Hobart Hospital Rescue Task Force’s professional reference group.

That group will include the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Tasmanian secretary Neroli Ellis, The Australian Medical Association Tasmanian president Tim Greenaway, the Master Builders Tasmania executive director Michael Kerschbaum and the Independent Member for Denison Andrew Wilkie.

They have all agreed to be part of the professional reference group which is a key element of the rescue task, because like us, they want to see the Royal Hobart Hospital redevelopment proceed.

I thank them sincerely for being a part of the solution.

The only group who do not yet agree with the plan to rescue the Royal is the Labor Opposition – the very people who are responsible for the bungled status of this major project.

The former Health Minister Michelle O’Byrne yesterday accepted responsibility for the right royal mess, but she must also accept that the project cannot proceed as it stands.

The Liberal Government is prudently reviewing the project.

Up to $1 million is a small price to pay given the risks faced if we proceed as is.

The project is already almost $25 million over budget, and at its current state of readiness that budget blowout could plunge to as much as $70 million.

The state can’t afford to continue down the disastrous path set by the previous Labor Green Government.

I can assure Tasmanians that the Rescue Task Force is not aimed at abandoning the redevelopment, or looking for short-term fixes.

We want a long term solution that provides for a modern and operationally-efficient hospital for the benefit of all Tasmanians now, and into the future.
Michael Ferguson, Minister for Health