During the recent election campaign, Jeremy Rockliff promised to deliver a New Northern Heart Centre at the Launceston General Hospital. He committed $120 million of state funds to the project - a promise that's still on the Liberal Party's website. He said the project would save lives.
When the budget was handed down last week there was no state funding provided for the Northern Heart Centre – not one cent.
Promising Tasmanians a $120 million state funded Northern Heart Centre while never intending to deliver it is dishonest and heartless.
What’s worse is the fact that today Jeremy Rockliff confirmed that he misled the Tasmanian people when he made that promise and has misled the Parliament several times since.
In Question Time today, the Premier confirmed he wrote to the Prime Minister on 14 February asking for support, and yet he went ahead and made a dishonest promise to Tasmanians at election time, that it would be fully state funded.
Despite several requests today, the Premier refused to table the document and outline the nature of his request. What has he got to hide?
Mr Rockliff’s promise is now a well and truly broken one, and it’s clear the Liberal minority government never had any intention of delivering a new Northern Heart Centre.
That is abundantly clear from the fact there is not one cent of funding in the state budget at all.
Cutting this critical health infrastructure project will mean risks to patient care and it will cost lives. Tasmania has the highest rates of heart disease and related conditions – 90% of which is preventable, but not without the vital services Tasmanians need.
Jeremy Rockliff restated his commitment to funding the project with state funds numerous times, but not once did he mention that it will only go ahead if the federal government pays half. That is, not until he was caught out in Question Time and had to admit to his broken promise.
The Premier needs to come clean on why he misled Tasmanians about this project during the election campaign, why he never came forward to correct the record and why ne committed no funding to the project in his budget last week.
How many other announcements has Jeremy Rockliff made with no intention of delivering? Liberal promises aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.
Ella Haddad MP
Shadow Minister for Health
