Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

It is terrific to take a question from the member for Solomon, who has been on the case with the Palmerston Regional Hospital ever since she was elected. She, as a member for Darwin, is very committed and understanding of the need for Darwin to grow and therefore the need for the infrastructure to be suitable for a growing city, a vibrant city, a city focused on Asia even more after our Australian white paper on the north. It needs the hospital that looks after the Palmerston community to be an appropriate size. I thank the member for Solomon. I visited Darwin with her on many occasions and look forward to inspecting more of this particular hospital and this particular significant piece of infrastructure.

Yes, we are strongly committed to the delivery of this important new hospital. It is a $150 million project of which $110 million is being provided by the Commonwealth. We are working very closely with the Northern Territory Department of Health and Families to make sure that there is timely delivery. I have absolute confidence in the Minister for Health, John Elferink, whom the member for Solomon mentioned. We have had two or three meetings, and the Palmerston hospital is very much something we are both watching with close interest as it develops. The Northern Territory is responsible for delivery of the project, as is perfectly normal. The Commonwealth is funding the $110 million out of $150 million, but the project delivery is the responsibility of the Northern Territory government. We know that the government is very focused on getting this hospital built so it can service the needs of this growing community. We have set clear construction milestones as we would be expected to do, and those construction milestones will trigger the release of this very significant amount of Commonwealth funds.

I again thank the member for Solomon for her serious interest in all of the facilities in her electorate, whether they be for children, students, the community generally, the disadvantaged or, in this particular case, the hospital system.

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