Ms O’CONNOR question to MINISTER for INFRASTRUCTURE, Mr VINCENT
The party of which you are part has maintained a close relationship with the Royal Flying Doctor Service for more than a decade. Right to Information documents released to the Greens in caretaker period revealed that following the 2021 state election MOU with the Liberal Party, the RFDS lobbied through Font PR for an exclusive tender for Tasmania aeromedical contracts. Departmental advice to go to open tender was ignored and instead an exemption from Treasurer’s instructions was granted.
Since then, the RFDS was awarded an exclusive open-ended recurrent fixed wing contract worth about $3.7 million a year, while the helicopter rescue service contract to 2036, held by one operator for the last 20 years, has gone for tender based in Hobart. We understand from your colleague, the health minister’s media release on 4 November that Tasmania’s aeromedical infrastructure, including the helicopters, will be at the RFDS facility in Launceston. Minister, do you have line of sight to this decision? Do you know when it was made to move rotary services to Launceston and award them to the RFDS? Are you able to explain how the contract was justified being awarded to a Launceston-based company when it was advertised for Hobart?
ANSWER
Mr President, I will seek some guidance on all those questions.
As much as I love to give a lot of detail in my answers, it is not something that comes under my ministry. I have not been briefed on the Flying Doctor Service or the aero services. It would be under the Minister for Health.
