Labor pursues no-confidence motion against Health Minister

UPDATED: An attempt to debate a motion of no confidence in Health Minister Michael Ferguson has been voted down.

Opposition leader Rebecca White addresses the Tasmanian Parliament on Tuesday June 11, 2019. Picture: DAVID KILLICK

UPDATED: THE Government has denounced a Labor attempt to move another no-confidence motion in Health Minister Micheal Ferguson as “a stunt”.

Labor moved the motion of no confidence in State Parliament on Tuesday morning, but it was voted down by the Government.

Premier Will Hodgman said it was a waste of parliamentary time.

“Their failed attempt to bring on a no-confidence motion today is just another way to disrupt Parliament and draw attention away from the fact that they refuse to offer anything constructive, like an alternative budget,” he said.

“This is off the back of seven previous failed no confidence or censure motion attempts, which ultimately consumed more than 20 hours of the Parliament’s time.”

Speaker Sue Hickey backed the motion to hold a debate, but Labor fell short of the two-thirds majority required for it to proceed.

Much of Tuesday’s Question Time was taken up with questions about Mr Ferguson’s failure to respond to concerns raised with him by the nurses’ union on May 16.

The letter asked for an urgent response to discuss understaffed and overworked psychiatric emergency nurses working in “dangerous conditions with often scared and volatile patients”.

On June 6, a week after its May 27 deadline, the union went around Mr Ferguson appealing directly to the Premier and other MPs.

Mr Ferguson replied to their letter on Tuesday morning, an hour before Parliament sat.

The requested meeting has not been held.

EARLIER: LABOR has moved a motion of no confidence in Health Minister Michael Ferguson in state parliament this morning.

Opposition Leader Rebecca White moved the 15-point motion after Question Time.

Ms White said information was continuing to come to light that the health system was in deep crisis.

“This Minister is slippery, he doesn’t deal with the substance of the problems facing the health system, he spins his way out of situations facing him, he doesn’t get back to people in a timely fashion,” Ms White said.

“We have no confidence in him.”

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She called for an immediate and unlimited debate on the Health Minister’s role.

“This Government is running from scrutiny, they are not willing to defend this Minister.

“They should debate the motion that’s before the house, they should demonstrate why he should be in the role.”

She said the Government needed a new health minister.

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Deputy Premier Jeremy Rockliff described the motion as ridiculous.

“Stunts like this do not one thing for one patient in Tasmania. It helps no one in Tasmania. All this does is mask the ineptitude of those opposite.”

Labor’s bid to bring on the motion was defeated by the government’s superior numbers.

Afterwards, Ms White said Mr Ferguson was failing and should be replaced.

“The government have again used their numbers today to block debate around a serious no confidence motion in the Minister for Health Michael Ferguson,” she said.

“Overall we’ve seen a decline in health services in this state over the last five years — for the entire time the minister has been the Health Minister.

“Michael Ferguson now has been health minister for half a decade and things are unfortunately getting worse.”

The no confidence motion was the third this year lodged against the embattled minister.

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