Hapless Health Minister Sarah Courtney’s embarrassing performance in Question Time today should concern every Tasmanian.
In the space of just over an hour, Sarah Courtney:
- Confirmed just 44 of the promised 250 beds would be opened when the new hospital is commissioned;
- Could not confirm when the Royal Hobart Hospital redevelopment would be complete;
- Confirmed the opening of the redeveloped Ward 4K at the Launceston General Hospital would be delayed to next year;
- Abandoned the Liberal Government’s commitment to providing low cost, surgical terminations; and
- Confirmed she would be employing a new $260,000 per year position in the health Department despite demanding the health Department face millions in cuts.
Shadow Health Minister Sarah Lovell said Will Hodgman and Sarah Courtney had completely failed to deliver on promises to fix the health crisis.
“Sarah Courtney’s answers today in Question Time were nothing short of a disgrace,” Ms Lovell said.
“After her embarrassing press conference last month, Sarah Courtney confirmed just 44 of the promised 250 beds would be open when the hospital is commissioned.
“They have broken their promises to deliver the new ward at the LGH this year and seemingly abandoned their promise to deliver low cost surgical pregnancy terminations through a private provider.
“And we now know that they’re hiring a new high paid executive, whose contract is equivalent to the cost of performing almost 200 surgeries.
“Perhaps today’s shameful performance is an indicator of why this new position has been created – it’s clear the Minister needs all the help she can get.
“The real victims of the Liberals failures and broken promises are young Tasmanians suffering from mental ill health. They were promised a dedicated mental health facility and the Liberals have completely failed to deliver.
“Tasmanians deserve much better, and with $450 million of budget cuts underway, things are only going to get worse.”
Sarah Lovell MP
Shadow Health Minister
