Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s appetite for avoiding the North West and West Coast of Tasmania has continued this week with him making trips to Launceston and Hobart.

While inspecting the $100 million redevelopment of the Launceston General Hospital, Mr Rudd will be able to avoid questions on his broken health promises to the North West and West Coast.

Senator for Tasmania Richard Colbeck said Mr Rudd obviously had a distaste for the North West, spending less than a full working day – 8 hours – on the Coast in more than 2 years.

“Mr Rudd clearly prefers the luxurious surroundings of billionaire Kerry Stokes’ mansion on the North West Coast – of Western Australia – to the North West Coast of Tasmania,” Senator Colbeck said.

“The Labor Party and its Braddon MP Sid Sidebottom ran around the electorate at the last election brandishing millions of dollars of promises for local healthcare services, but these turned into a pool of broken commitments following the election.
“The PM and Labor’s representative in Braddon, Sid Sidebottom, have blatantly broken an election promise to establish an oncology unit on the Coast.

“Mr Sidebottom, prior to the election was telling Coast residents he would bring a multi-million dollar oncology unit, to assist cancer sufferers, to the region.

“After the election, his promise was exposed as a tricky deception with the unit going to Launceston instead. Mr Sidebottom’s response was to come up with bureaucratic excuses in a feeble attempt to find a way out of the situation.

“Added to that, Labor failed on a commitment to locate a MRI scanner on the North West Coast. Once again, local electors were told about a wad of cash to bring this healthcare service to the region.

“But, unsurprisingly, this became another broken promise of Mr Sidebottom and Labor. Labor did, however, find funds to put another MRI scanner in Hobart.

“No amount of excuses from Labor or Mr Sidebottom can make up for these failed commitments.

“It is no wonder Mr Rudd prefers to visit anywhere else but the North West Coast.”
SENATOR THE HON RICHARD COLBECK