Reports that interstate labour will assemble the temporary building in the Royal Hobart Hospital forecourt, if true, are very disappointing. The State Government has said repeatedly that it will do everything in its power to ensure RHH rebuild work goes to local workers, but here we are with one of the first major stages of construction and reportedly Victorian workers have got the job.
I understand that at least one local company tendered unsuccessfully for the contract.
If the reports of interstate workers on the temporary structure are true then the Government has stumbled and let the community down badly. The Minister needs to explain what’s going on as soon as possible and commit to make things right in the future.
Mr Wilkie will be able to discuss this matter at his 12:15pm press conference in the Senate Courtyard, Parliament House Canberra.
Andrew Wilkie, Independent MP for Denison
Rebecca White MR posted by editor
February 24, 2016 at 16:10
Ferguson goes interstate for building and overseas for builders
 Health Minister chooses Melbourne builder for RHH temporary building
 International backpackers hired for construction work
 Building will bring more traffic chaos
The Hodgman Liberal Government chose a Victorian firm over a Launceston company to provide a new temporary building for the Royal Hobart Hospital redevelopment and has employed overseas backpackers to pull the construction together.
Shadow Health Minister Rebecca White said the $22 million demountable building was produced by a Victorian firm and was currently being put together by a group of international tourists at Macquarie Point in Hobart in preparation for planned installation at the Royal next week.
Ms White said the demountable building – which will sit above the hospital’s Liverpool Street forecourt and house patients during demolition works – should have been produced in Tasmania and should be built using a local labour force.
“The Health Minister Michael Ferguson will tell you that he went with a Victorian building company rather than a Launceston firm which could have done the job because he was working to a deadline,†Ms White said.
“The truth of the matter is Michael Ferguson has bungled this project so badly that he needed a rush job done on the materials and chose to go interstate at the expense of Tasmanian jobs and business because he thought he could get the job done quicker in Victoria.
“Once again Mr Ferguson has proven himself to be completely incapable of making a decision on infrastructure projects that are critically important to this state and so he ultimately makes a mess of them.
“Mr Ferguson has had two years to get the Royal redevelopment moving but he has been happy to let the project lay idle.
“Now Tasmanians would be rightfully shocked to discover an itinerant work force has been employed to construct this building before it is moved on site to Liverpool Street next week.
“Hobart motorists are already battling rapidly increasing traffic congestion and it will get worse next week when Mr Ferguson closes down sections of Liverpool Street so this building can be moved on to the RHH site.
“Michael Ferguson needs to explain why he went interstate for parts, why he has not hired locals to pull those parts together and how he intends to keep the city moving once work starts on Monday.
“This is a Health Minister – and a Government – that has proven time after time after time it has no plan and it has no idea.â€
Michael Ferguson MR posted by editor
February 25, 2016 at 07:35
Michael Ferguson, Minister for Health
Labor throwing rocks from the sidelines
Labor has no policy and no plan, they only have a history of mishandling the Royal Hobart Hospital redevelopment.
The $389 million contract for the RHH Redevelopment has been awarded to a joint venture of Tasmanian company Fairbrother and John Holland.
Over the total life of the $689 million RHH redevelopment, it is estimated that there will be 4,000 jobs direct and indirectly created in Tasmania.
Fairbrother, a reputable Tasmanian company, won the tender to construct the new temporary facility to allow safe decanting.
Fairbrother’s offer was the only one received that provided for construction within the required timeframes and was the only bid with a fully modular approach to construction, allowing it to be re-used at a different site after the redevelopment.
Fairbrother have in turn engaged interstate specialist contractor Modscape for the modules and Launceston contractor Crisp Brothers Hayward for the significant steel works and have therefore employed workers in Launceston, Spreyton, Hobart and Victoria to deliver the Liverpool street temporary facility.
Modscape has advised that all its workers and subcontractors are employed legitimately.
People should remember, Labor’s alternative was not to build this temporary facility at all, and instead send RHH patients in an unsafe manner to suburbs all around Hobart.
The simple fact is that Labor botched this important redevelopment to the point that it couldn’t have proceeded. The Government has rescued the project, improved it and established a safe patient decant plan.
Throwing rocks from the sidelines will not distract the Government from delivering the state-of-the-art hospital that Tasmanians deserve.