By Eleanor Wilson
Liberal MPs have called on the State Government to clarify funding allocation and service delivery timelines for several of the State’s hospital upgrades, following the release of the State Budget on Tuesday 23 May.
The 2023-’24 State Budget promised a $320 million investment into the Hospital Infrastructure Delivery Fund, to be shared between six hospitals over four years.
The fund includes allocation for planning and designing processes to commence at the new West Gippsland Hospital, Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Wonthaggi Hospital, Dandenong Hospital and Monash Medical Centre.
While the budget papers revealed an initial expenditure of $78.5 million for 2023-’24, it did not expand on how the funding would be divided between the hospitals.
Narracan MP Wayne Farnham said the Budget raised “more questions than answers” about the establishment of the West Gippsland Hospital, which is estimated to cost the state up to $675 million alone.
‘Today’s State Budget finally confirms that West Gippsland will receive a new hospital and I congratulate the local community on their efforts to help achieve this outcome,” he said.
‘The community now wants to know when will this project be delivered, how much of the $320m announced today will go towards the new West Gippsland Hospital, and what guarantees will the Victorian Government make that this funding won’t just be a token amount used to develop a plan or design that sits on a shelf gathering dust?
‘It took years of advocacy by the community, by former Member for Narracan Gary Blackwood and I to bring the Victorian Labor Government to the table to deliver this hospital, we cannot let that hard work go to waste by delaying its delivery.’
Shadow health minister Georgie Crozier also urged the State Government to clarify how much will be provided for the delivery of West Gippsland Hospital.
‘What’s clear from the State Budget is that under Labor, Victoria is broke. The money allocated for these promised hospitals will not see a sod turned or a brick laid,” she said.
‘While thousands of Victorians wait for vital surgery and can’t get an ambulance, the government, desperate to cover up the dire state of Victoria’s finances, is conning Victorians with PR and spin.”
In a statement, a Victorian Government spokesperson said the $320 million investment will be invested into planning and design work for the hospitals, including masterplans, feasibility studies and land acquisition.
“We are already delivering the largest health infrastructure pipeline in the state’s history and with our commitments last year, this will increase to over $20 billion,” the spokesperson said.
“Our $320 million Hospital Infrastructure Delivery Fund will help our hospitals plan and design their upgrades, expansions or complete rebuilds as well as support them to acquire any additional land they need.”
The final costs for all projects will be confirmed once the necessary planning is completed however we expect it to be in line with announcements made last year, the spokesperson said.
Previously, Premier Daniel Andrews stated construction of the West Gippsland hospital would begin in 2024 and would likely be completed in 2028.
