Dr LIM - 2007-04-19
On Monday this week, you re-announced your two-year-old election promise to build a new Emergency Department at the Alice Springs Hospital. I can assure you that we all in Alice Springs look forward to it. The general manager of the Alice Springs Hospital said on ABC radio that there are no plans for the department at the moment and, therefore, there is no time line to develop the new Emergency Department. The general manager was also unsure whether $6m will be sufficient for the development. Various figures have been quoted – $5m, $6m, $7.5m. What is the true value of the government’s commitment to the new Emergency Department at the Alice Springs Hospital? When will the new Emergency Department be operational, or is it another project scheduled to be opened just before the next Territory general election?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Greatorex for his question because it gives me a chance to reiterate what was said on Monday and the commitment of this government in the upcoming 2007-08 budget; that is, $6m to construct a new Emergency Department at Alice Springs Hospital - building on other works that this government has done at that hospital, including the remediation works for the fiasco that was left for this government …
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: … that was left for this government by the previous government …
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, member for Greatorex!
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, if I am angry about something, I am angry about that …
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: … and the member for Greatorex should hang his head in shame about that, because it is still disrupting our hospital in Alice Springs.
Ms Carney interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Opposition members!
Dr BURNS: As I announced earlier this week - and I made public statements about this and was interviewed by the media - that money will be available in the 2007-08 financial year. There has already been some scoping work done in relation to the development of the Emergency Department, in consultation with the staff. The member for Greatorex does not understand how capital works projects work. Maybe I can tell him, as a former Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, there has been scoping work undertaken and we are now going to enter into the very detailed work of design.
The other thing I announced earlier this week was that a tender would be let by the end of this calendar year, and I would be very hopeful of construction beginning early in the 2008 calendar year.
I suspect the member for Greatorex has verballed the General Manager of Alice Springs Hospital. I really cannot trust a lot of what the member for Greatorex says. Tonight, I will have a bit more to say about some documents that were tabled in the last sittings of parliament by the member for Greatorex …
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: … and the assertions that you made around those documents, member for Greatorex. You should be ashamed of yourself.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Greatorex for his question because it gives me a chance to reiterate what was said on Monday and the commitment of this government in the upcoming 2007-08 budget; that is, $6m to construct a new Emergency Department at Alice Springs Hospital - building on other works that this government has done at that hospital, including the remediation works for the fiasco that was left for this government …
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: … that was left for this government by the previous government …
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, member for Greatorex!
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, if I am angry about something, I am angry about that …
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: … and the member for Greatorex should hang his head in shame about that, because it is still disrupting our hospital in Alice Springs.
Ms Carney interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Opposition members!
Dr BURNS: As I announced earlier this week - and I made public statements about this and was interviewed by the media - that money will be available in the 2007-08 financial year. There has already been some scoping work done in relation to the development of the Emergency Department, in consultation with the staff. The member for Greatorex does not understand how capital works projects work. Maybe I can tell him, as a former Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, there has been scoping work undertaken and we are now going to enter into the very detailed work of design.
The other thing I announced earlier this week was that a tender would be let by the end of this calendar year, and I would be very hopeful of construction beginning early in the 2008 calendar year.
I suspect the member for Greatorex has verballed the General Manager of Alice Springs Hospital. I really cannot trust a lot of what the member for Greatorex says. Tonight, I will have a bit more to say about some documents that were tabled in the last sittings of parliament by the member for Greatorex …
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: … and the assertions that you made around those documents, member for Greatorex. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016