The Liberal Government is getting on with the job of rescuing the Royal Hobart Hospital redevelopment which the previous Labor-Green government left in disarray and dramatically over budget.
I will receive the Royal Hobart Hospital Rescue Taskforce’s report in November this year and our focus is on rescuing the redevelopment. I remain strongly committed to this objective.
The Rescue Taskforce’s Report will detail what needs to be done to put the redevelopment project back on track. It is a critical piece of work and the Government does not intend to abandon or distract this process.
Former Cabinet Minister Cassy O’Connor has finally today provided a clear admission that her Government completely failed on the RHH redevelopment by asking us to consider walking away from the rescue.
Her former Cabinet counterparts in the Labor Party have consistently refused to support the rescue taskforce. They are embarrassed at the careless way they allowed the redevelopment to get millions of dollars over budget, a lack of competence and oversight symptomatic of their administration of the entire health system.
Contemplating walking away from the Royal redevelopment is an acknowledgement by the Greens that they and their colleagues in the Labor party totally mismanaged the project.
We remain absolutely committed to rescuing the RHH redevelopment and letting proper process take its course. We have been briefed and will continue to stay fully informed on the consortium’s proposal, but our focus is on receiving the Rescue Taskforce’s report and fixing the appalling mess Labor and the Greens left behind.
Michael Ferguson, Minister for Health
