Meekatharra Hospital
145. Mr Shane Love to the Premier:
I refer to Meekatharra Hospital and the Premier's 2021 election commitment made to the community of Meekatharra as the then Minister for Health that he would start construction on the new Meekatharra Hospital within the government's second term.
(1) Why after a full second term of Labor has there been no progress on this commitment?
(2) When can the people of Meekatharra expect to see the redevelopment of their ageing hospital?
Mr Roger Cook replied:
(1)–(2) The answer is quite simple: we put out a tender and no-one tendered for it. We were very keen to make sure that we moved forward with the Meekatharra Hospital, including Laverton Hospital and Tom Price Hospital. I am very proud to say that works are being undertaken on the Laverton Hospital emergency department, outpatients, mental health and drug and alcohol services. I am also very pleased to say that we have made significant progress on the program to develop Tom Price Hospital. The fact of the matter remains, while our building industry is constrained and attracted by big opportunities in the metropolitan area—
Ms Sandra Brewer interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Cottesloe!
Mr Roger Cook: The fact of the matter remains that undertaking major infrastructure projects in these hard-to-access and remote communities is very difficult. I know this. Meekatharra Hospital is an important part of what I was doing as health minister. This was first in budget repair, for which we had to stage the changes we made at that hospital, making sure we undertook important repairs and upgrades in the meantime—then as we move forward first of all to do the designs, we will get those requests for tender into the market and then hopefully get on with improving that hospital. The fact of the matter is that we have not being successful in attracting a tender, and we need to continue to make sure that we do everything we can to encourage hospital construction companies to take an interest in that project. This is something that every government around the world is contending with in the post-pandemic period, during which we have seen workforce constraints in the construction industry that put limitations on how we can continue to develop this important infrastructure. I am very familiar with Meekatharra Hospital. Undertaking the work there is important to us, but we have to do it in a manner that represents value for money for the WA taxpayer.
146. Mr Shane Loveto thePremier:
I have a supplementary question. Is the feeble attempt to deliver on the promise of a hospital in Meekatharra simply due to the fact that the government did not win the seat?
Mr Roger Cook replied:
No.
