[Greens-Media] Tas Greens_Govt Must Rethink New Hospital Site_C O'Connor MP

[greens at parliament.tas.gov.au]

IT'S TIME TO RETHINK HOSPITAL PLAN

More Vision Needed On RHH Site And Macquarie Point Future

Cassy O'Connor MP
Greens Shadow Health spokesperson

Thursday, 31 July 2008
Contact: State Parliamentary Offices of the Tasmanian Greens, (03) 6233
8300

www.tas.greens.org.au


The Tasmanian Greens are calling on the Bartlett Government to
reconsider its push to locate the new Royal Hobart Hospital on the
railyards at Macquarie Point.

Greens Shadow Health Spokesperson and Member for Denison, Cassy O'Connor
MP, said the decision to locate the proposed new hospital at the current
railyards and Hobart Ports site lacks vision and appears to have been
rushed during former Premier Lennon's desperate makeover efforts last
year.

Ms O'Connor, who attended last night's briefing by the New Royal Project
team, said that there is significant community concern over the
government's position.

"As a community we have just one chance to get this right, and for the
future of the hospital and the waterfront the government needs to
reconsider," Ms O'Connor said.

"The Greens agree the current Royal Hobart Hospital building is past its
use-by date and we fully support a new public hospital in Southern
Tasmania, as was our policy at the 2006 State Election.   We believe
that, once built, the new hospital should be expected to serve
Tasmania's health needs for at least a century."

"The Greens question whether it is sensible to locate a large, public
hospital immediately adjacent to an industrial port?  TasPorts and other
port users clearly believe the two are incompatible." 

"Either the Bartlett Government is committed to maintaining a working
port in Hobart, and to a strategic vision for the waterfront, or it is
committed to building a hospital at Macquarie Point.  It just doesn't
seem possible to have both."

"We question how much thought went into suitable, alternative
locations?"  

"As well as being part of a working port that would be a noisy, brightly
lit operation alongside people in hospital beds, the site has numerous
other drawbacks for the purpose." 

"It is close to sea level, contaminated by decades of industrial use,
and prone to potential traffic congestion.  If built, it would also
severely limit the potential future need for increased rail
infrastructure to help cope with peak oil, and any future expansion of
Southern Ocean shipping needs."

"The government was so committed to a close CBD site it doesn't seem to
have thought laterally about the plan.  There are alternatives, from the
TCA grounds at the Domain, to the Showgrounds or Dowsings Point in the
northern suburbs."   

"Has any thought, for example, gone into a multi-campus model
incorporating the existing CBD site and possibly another campus at the
Campbell St Primary School?"

"What worries the Greens is that the government seems to be adopting a
'take it, or leave it' approach to the new hospital.  Either we accept
the railyards site option, and kiss our working port goodbye, or the
existing RHH city site will be upgraded."

"I attended last night's briefing by the New Royal Project team, and
appreciated their energy and enthusiasm for the work they are doing.  It
did become clear however, during public questioning, that the community
does not feel it has been given enough genuine input into the process of
selecting the best site."

"It is surely time for the government to take a deep breath and go back
to the people, and initiate genuine community engagement on the best
location for Tasmania's new public hospital."

"With more foresight and collective intelligence applied, it would
surely be possible to come up with a more sensible location for a
hospital to service the needs of all Tasmanians, and a more creative use
of the Macquarie Point site which continues its capacity to service a
working port but enhances public enjoyment of its open spaces and
vistas," Ms O'Connor said