Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to provide the House with an update on the Commonwealth's $110 investment in the proposed Palmerston Regional Hospital. Palmerston, as many of you know, is in my electorate. The tender for the intersection design on the Stuart Highway was awarded last month and construction work is expected to commence in October. Discussions at the moment are focused on avoiding the need to lower major water mains. A geotechnical study on the proposed site is underway and a report is expected in September.

I can advise that the preliminary draft of the concept master plan for the site has been received by the Northern Territory Department of Health and it is currently reviewing it. I am further advised that the department's preference is not to build a tower like Royal Darwin Hospital but rather to have a facility that is several storeys high. The procurement process is being worked through by the Northern Territory Department of Health. The new hospital, as I have said in this place before, will be a valuable community asset once it is completed and will provide health services not only to Palmerston but also to Darwin's northern suburbs.

It is quite clear, despite the lies that are being peddled by the Labor Party, that work is well and truly underway for the development of the Northern Territory's new Palmerston hospital, a hospital that will deliver services for the next 50 years for Darwin and Palmerston residents. (Time expired)