The Brumby Government has abandoned the long-promised redevelopment of Box Hill Hospital today, with a senior Minister in the Labor Government telling the Parliament Labor’s scaled-back $400 million version of the promised $800 million-plus redevelopment was ‘as good as it gets’, Shadow Minister for Health David Davis said.
When asked in Upper House of Parliament today about the Labor Government’s commitment to the redevelopment, arrogant Labor Minister Gavin Jennings replied:
“… it’s pretty clear this is as good as it gets today”
“The people of Box Hill and Melbourne’s eastern suburbs cannot trust John Brumby and his Labor MPs to deliver on promises to upgrade the hospital this time around, when Labor just baulked on the $800 million-plus plans promised last time around,” Mr Davis said.
“They can’t trust Health Minister Daniel Andrews either who today was spinning that the hospital would double in size but then admitted the project had been scaled back and that, in the revised plan, only one building would be demolished with the other buildings being refurbished.
“Originally, all the buildings were to be demolished and rebuilt. The master plan has been ditched and John Brumby is recycling dilapidated 1950’s hospital buildings instead of building a new hospital as Labor promised.
“Furthermore Mr Andrews told the Whitehorse Leader he had not ruled out public-private partnerships – raising even more questions about Labor’s ability to deliver on today’s $400 million pledge.
“After 10 years and more than $300 billion in revenue, all the half-hearted Labor Government can do is make a half-baked attempt to provide desperately needed health services to the eastern suburbs, and it is a dark day for the 11,000 or more people parked on ever-extending outpatient waiting lists at Box Hill Hospital,” Mr Davis said.
