Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you, Madam Chair. It’s a follow-up question to your question relating to the scoped down plans for the Royal Hobart Hospital emergency department. Was the decision made to shrink the plan based on funding?
Mr WEBSTER – Through you, minister, the short answer to that is no. The budget has always been $130 million. The Public Works submission actually says that it’s an early projection that had inflated contingencies and we would need to value‑manage it back to the budget. It’s in that document. We’re not downsizing it. We want to get the right size. The submission says –
Ms O’CONNOR – For what timeframe though?
Mr WEBSTER – Well, the original timeframe was we need the right number of treatment points out to 2035, and so we need to get the right number for 2035. As I said, the Public Works document said 121, the original KP Health said 118, the doctors said 114, then we get a second report at 94. So part of the planning we’re doing is, how many do we actually need.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you, Mr Webster. We’ve heard from the Australian Medical Association, HACSU, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, all of whom are really disappointed in what they understand to be the new scope of the refurbishment of the Royal’s emergency department. They say it will have really long-term consequences for the state. Minister, where was this decision made to scope down, to some extent clearly, the rebuild of the ED of the Royal? Was that your decision?
Mr BARNETT – I’ll take the first part of that as an answer and say the budget, I think it originally started it at about $30-odd million and then it’s ended up being the $130 million. What is important is that we get a facility that does the job for Tasmanians in the south of the state both now and into the future. You’ve made reference to 2035, as has the acting secretary. We need to act on expert advice. We’ve had expert advice from a range of sources and the department’s responded to that advice.
From my point of view, I have met with and had feedback from other stakeholders including the AMA. I appreciate their feedback and collaboration. I have asked my department to collaborate with the AMA and other relevant stakeholders, and my expectation is that that will occur but it must be based on expert advice and fully informed, and we’ll then respond accordingly. We want it fit for purpose now and into the future. That’s my ambition as the Health minister. I’ll leave it there and ask the acting secretary to add to that, if need be.
Ms O’CONNOR – I’m not sure it necessarily needs adding to.
Mr WEBSTER – Probably just to add to budget figures, which is that this was originally scoped as under $30 million. It was then $50 million, was then $82 million, and the budget now sits at $130 million. I’m committed that we need to deliver value for money and deliver it at $130 million.
CHAIR – Are we talking about phase 2 of the development or not?
Mr WEBSTER – That’s right, yes.
Mr BARNETT – Stage 2.
CHAIR – It was presented as $149 million. I’m totally confused.
Ms O’CONNOR – Well, this is the thing that we’re trying to get to the bottom of. Good on you, Chair. $149 million, now $130 million. We’ve got staff who work at the Royal Hobart Hospital who are pretty gutted, and especially when they have a look at the kind of money your government wants to throw around on a stadium, minister. I know it’s hard being Health minister. It’s possibly the most difficult job in Cabinet, minister. But you must have had a role in deciding to shrink the redevelopment of the emergency department. What do you have to say to staff who work there who feel – and ED management who say the design isn’t fit for purpose to meet our current needs, let alone our future needs?
Mr BARNETT – My commitment is to a better health system and to build a better health system. We have committed $88 million for the doctors and the nurses. We have just successfully completed a recruitment campaign for the RHH ED alone: 44 doctors, 25 nurses. This is good news. We are committed to the ED. We’re committed to the services at the ED now and into the future. The acting secretary’s referred to the $30 million to $50 million to more than $80 million. It’s $130 million in the Budget. Notwithstanding that, I have met with the President of the AMA, I’ve met with the CEO of the AMA – with my department and indeed without my department, just directly, – and my expectation is one where they will work collaboratively and my department will work collaboratively with the experts including and specifically KP Health, who’s very highly regarded on this sort of work.
We have a mutual agreement to collaborate, to keep working on that, to go away, to take that advice, get the feedback, and the department will feed that back. I’m sure the AMA will respond to me accordingly. I look forward to that. We are working productively, cooperatively and collaboratively, and we’re working through these issues. Of course they’re challenging, but the expectation is to meet the needs now and into the future.
Ms O’CONNOR – Can I just ask a final question on this line of questioning, minister. You’ve said you met with the AMA and you want them to be part of the ongoing conversation. What about representatives for the workers, HACSU, the ANMF? Will they be part of this ongoing conversation, and will you meet with them?
Mr BARNETT – Absolutely. I meet with them regularly. I met with the ANMF last week. We had a roundtable. I think it was Friday in the morning. I meet with them regularly on a whole range of issues. I enjoy meeting with them. We agree to disagree on a few things from time to time, but we’re all on the same page: Team Tasmania, build a better health system.
I want to make it very clear. We’ve got $650 million in this budget paper. $650 million over the forward Estimates, which is a significant investment across our public hospitals, and I’m pleased and proud of that commitment. Absolutely stoked as a Health minister to get that funding commitment from the Treasurer and the Premier and the Cabinet. We will deliver that and we’re going to put more on the frontline than ever before. This time next year we’ll be sitting here talking about how many extras we’ve had on the frontline. So you’ve got an absolutely bonza increase in health infrastructure commitment. I won’t comment on other parties –
Mr EDMUNDS – I was going to say, be careful using Bonza as well. They kind of –
Mr BARNETT – Well, fair point. We’re on a recruitment blitz. It’s working. We’re delivering. We’re going to have a capital infrastructure investment blitz over the next four years and beyond. $650 million. It’s in the budget and we’re getting on with the job and we expect the federal government to support us in our ambition.
