Will Hodgman puts ‘bungled’ hospital on hold

REDEVELOPMENT of Tasma­nia’s main hospital has been put on hold for up to six months while the troubled $586m project is reviewed.

REDEVELOPMENT of Tasma­nia’s main hospital has been put on hold for up to six months while the troubled $586 million project is reviewed.

The Hodgman Liberal government announced the decision yesterday, blaming the previous Labor-Greens administration for bungling the Royal Hobart project, which involves $361m in federal funds.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson said that the review would examine the “achievability” of the current construction plan, against alternatives.

He accused the previous government of secretly changing the project scope and timelines in a deal signed with then prime minister Kevin Rudd just hours ­before the last federal election was called.

However, Mr Ferguson did not rule out further reducing the project scope, prompting independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie — who helped secure the federal funding — to warn against a “second-rate” plan.

“I am concerned that the Tasmanian community is being ­softened up for a hospital that will be significantly less than the one we were expecting and desperately need,” Mr Wilkie said.

Mr Ferguson said the project, first announced in 2010, had been so badly mishandled by the previous state Labor-Greens government that it faced a $70m cost blowout even before construction had started.

He told state parliament the project had been changed so much by mid-last year that the funding deal with Canberra had to be altered and re-signed “just hours before the federal election was called”.

“This new agreement reduced the size and scope of the project and revealed that timeframes had significantly blown out,” Mr Ferguson said. However, he confirmed his new review would cause further significant delays to the project of at least six months and cost $1m.

As well, his terms of reference for the review left wide open the option of further reducing the scope.

“The Hodgman government came to office promising to cut spending on consultancies — well, they have failed their first test at a cost of $1m to the health budget,” said Greens health spokeswoman, former cabinet minister Cassy O’Connor.