The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to the Mersey Community Hospital as an integral part of our One Health System now and into the future.
That’s why we will be introducing legislation to the Tasmanian Parliament today to ensure that funding provided by the Australian Government for the Mersey will sustain its operations over at least the next decade.
This legislation will be designed to prevent any future government from raiding the Mersey fund for other purposes.
North-West Tasmanians have not forgotten that under Labor, Mersey funding was dishonestly taken from the hospital and spent in the South.
A previous Labor government also raided $1.7 billion from the public sector superannuation account.
The Liberal Government was successful in securing a $730 million 10-year deal for the Mersey Community Hospital – better than anything achieved under Labor.
We have also provided certainty for the Mersey by defining a critical role for it to play for all Tasmanians under our One Health reforms.
Further demonstrating our commitment to the Mersey and its future is the $35 million in state funds we have provided in the Budget to upgrade its facilities.
We will not have this hospital jeopardised by a future government to fill a budget black hole and will legislate to protect these funds and our investment. Labor's suggestion that this approach is "ridiculous" highlights how necessary this protection really is.
The Mersey funding will be invested with TasCorp, the finance authority responsible for coordinating and implementing Tasmania’s borrowing and investment programs, with an annual payment to the Budget to cover the operating costs of the hospital.