Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is directed to Senator Ellison in his capacity as Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing. Is the minister aware that the Burnie City Council has expressed serious fears that the government’s Mersey hospital intervention could undermine the Burnie hospital’s viability? Don’t the council’s concerns support those expressed by Burnie based senator Senator Parry that the PM’s intervention at Mersey was a disaster and that instead the Mersey hospital should have been closed? Did the government undertake any consultation with the local community or even with its own senators before the Prime Minister intervened in this matter, or was its only consultation that with Crosby Textor?

Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The issue of the Mersey hospital in Devonport is of great concern to the community in Devonport and is one which the government listened to. This initiative is in clear response to the views of the local community, which is concerned about the Tasmanian government’s withdrawal or downgrading of services at the Mersey hospital. We have a situation where funding of around $45 million a year is proposed to fund the Mersey hospital in north-west Tasmania to provide a full range of hospital services treating public and private patients in Devonport and surrounding areas. That is as a result of direct community concern from the people in that area.

What is important is that there will also be community involvement. The Mersey Community Hospital will continue to provide a full range of services, as I say. The Mersey Community Hospital Trust will oversee the running of the hospital and will be composed of locals to serve locals. Members will include local health professionals, business leaders and regional local government. The Commonwealth will protect the entitlements of staff at the Mersey hospital as the transition is made to the new governance arrangements.

The Mersey hospital scheme is of course a pilot scheme, as announced by the government, and is of national significance. This plan could well be applied elsewhere in Australia if successful. I reiterate that no decision has been made at this stage. If Senator Evans has any doubt about the feelings of the local residents in the area of Devonport, north-west Tasmania, he should go there and ask them, because the clear message that we have got as the Commonwealth government is that the downgrading—in fact, the withdrawal—of services in that area in relation to the hospital was of great concern to the local community. The Australian government has responded to those local concerns.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. The question to the minister is: did he consult more widely before the Prime Minister intervened? Did the Prime Minister speak to people like Senator Parry, who live in neighbouring communities, about the wisdom of such an intervention? Does he share the concerns of the Burnie City Council and his own government senator Senator Parry that in fact this intervention will have a terrible effect on the other services provided in the region? Minister, why didn’t the government consult the Minister for Finance and Administration or its own senators before rushing off for this ill-thought-through proposal? Why didn’t you assess the impact on other communities before taking this step?

Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The issue is the community concern in Devonport in relation to the Mersey hospital and the downgrading and withdrawal of essential services for the people who live in that immediate region. You listen to the community on the ground, and that is what the Commonwealth government has done in this case. It is remedying a situation which has been neglected by the Tasmanian state government.

It is interesting that Mr Rudd, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was questioned by Fran Kelly, kept his options open. He said:

... as soon as I have before me a comprehensive piece of paper which explains to me what the proposed management model is for this hospital for the future, and how it’s to be constructed, organised and delivered on the ground and integrated with the surrounding health care infrastructure of Northern Tasmania, I’ll give you an answer.

We have an issue here that requires a decision and not sitting on the fence. We are responding directly—(Time expired)