SA Health Partnerships take court injunction over fears Health Minister Jack Snelling could ‘terminate’ contract
THE trouble-plagued new Royal Adelaide Hospital is embroiled in a fresh row with builders worried they could be sacked as a legal dispute with the State Government escalates.
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THE trouble-plagued new Royal Adelaide Hospital is embroiled in a fresh row with builders worried they could be sacked as a legal dispute with the State Government escalates.
SA Health Partnerships, the consortium behind the $2.1 billion hospital, yesterday sought an urgent Supreme Court injunction over fears Health Minister Jack Snelling could “terminate” the contract.
The consortium’s lawyers sought official protection of its commercial agreement for fear of Mr Snelling dismissing them and later hiring new builders.
It comes amid a high-stakes backroom negotiation over the contract, and as sources close to the project say that the Government and consortium are “at war” over the build.
Mr Snelling has said the building has outstanding safety concerns that mean it is not up to a standard needed for patients to move in and significant changes must be made to overcome that.
However, that has been flatly rejected by industry sources who say the Government has used safety fears as cover and is deliberately delaying the hospital’s opening date in an aggressive move to bargain down the $400 million annual repayments due for the next three decades.
Asked if the Government would terminate the contract, a move that could trigger a multi-billion dollar counter lawsuit, Mr Snelling told Parliament: “We reserve all our rights”.
“That is not my preferred option. I would much rather that SAHP, who the Government has a contract with, rectified the issues ... in order for the hospital to be safe for us,” he said.
Mr Snelling said he believed the Government’s contractual position was “very, very strong”.