Bartlett commits to new hospital
Posted
Updated
The Premier is adamant the Royal Hobart Hospital will be replaced. (ABC News: Phil Long)
The Tasmanian Premier, David Bartlett, has committed to building a new hospital in Hobart, despite questions about how it will be funded.
The State Government had planned to put $150 million dollars a year from surpluses into a hospital infrastructure account.
However, the global financial crisis has put Government revenue under pressure and made borrowing more difficult.
Mr Bartlett says the budget will have to be reconsidered.
"We need to consider a whole range of funding options, together with our own cash which is in shorter supply now than it was just three months ago," Mr Bartlett said.
"We need to look at things like private/public partnerships.
"We need to turn to the Federal Government and look to their hospital infrastructure fund and we also need to look to the idea of some inter-generational debt or inter-generational borrowing."
Mr Bartlett says the government expects to know in a fortnight how it will pay for a new hospital.
"We're working very hard at the moment to bring together a mid-year financial report for December 15," Mr Bartlett said.
"Following the mid-year financial report it will become very clear what we need to do in terms of the shortfall for cash funding for the hospital."
Search for news
ABC News Online takes a look at the big stories from 2008.
