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West Australian Health Infrastructure Minister John Carey claims there “is always capacity in the budget for health” as construction officially begins on the new Mandurah Hospital site.
The latest announcement for the hospital is set to see the government spend a further $950 million on the site, in addition to around $150 million already committed on water and electricity infrastructure.
The health infrastructure spend also coincides with the pledge of $1 million allocated to a master plan for the future of the Rockingham General Hospital.
“Never before have you seen so many hospital projects under way,” Carey said on Tuesday.
“This is a massive construction program. A new women’s and babies’ hospital, the new Royal Perth Hospital build, this build, Bunbury, a number of regional projects.
“We have never seen this type of hospital construction in the state’s history.”
However, asked if it was a coincidence that the dual health infrastructure announcements, in areas that flanked the Secret Harbour electorate, coincided with an upcoming byelection, Carey said the government couldn’t win.
“Whoopee doodah – we’ve got to build hospitals,” he said.
“Can we get real here? You can’t win.
“The message we receive is to invest in hospital infrastructure.
“So, by George, that’s what we are doing and it is a massive program. You have never seen it before.”
Carey said he expected the build of the Mandurah Hospital site to be completed by early 2029, and made no apologies about the “record” investment.
“This is the cost. We have an office that is very thorough in the procurement process,” he said.
“We go way beyond to get value for taxpayers, but I do believe that no one is going to complain because we are undertaking a record investment to build a new Mandurah Hospital.”
Tree breaks silence after not making a sound in weekend media events
Meanwhile, Labor’s candidate for the seat of Secret Harbour, Georgia Tree, has fronted journalists after the party faced criticism for not allowing her to speak at a series of recent media events.
Addressing the press pack at Mandurah Hospital announcement, Tree said she had answered more questions than any other candidate in the by-election.
Asked why she had not spoken at the announcement of funding for the Karnup train station, Tree repeated the premier’s words that a tight schedule had prevented her from addressing media.
“We had to get to Lark Hill because we were announcing $3 million in flood lighting, so little kids can train at night, and we had to get there for the community groups and sporting groups that were there,” she said.
“I then had a field rally where over 100 volunteers came out to support me and go out door knocking in Singleton that afternoon.
“So it was a packed schedule.”
Tree added that throughout her door-knocking campaign within the electorate, the topic of the Karnup station was a key focus for voters.
“It’s something I’ve been fighting for all the way along this campaign and feeding back community feedback to the government,” she said.
“And I’m so glad that they’ve brought the announcement forward, so I can campaign on it, so voters know what they’re getting when they go to the polls on the 29th of August.
“The main thing for me is that Karnup’s getting built.”
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