Waikerie Health Service

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (14:31): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing regarding hospital services.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE: I am taking on your feedback—amazing!

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE: Have the immediate and shovel-ready installation of generators and electrical upgrades at Waikerie hospital been completed?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:32): I thank the honourable member for her question. By way of preface, the Waikerie hospital is the one where the community itself had put money into the hospital—I think it was the upgrade of the operating theatres, if I remember correctly—because of the former Labor government's complete and utter neglect over country health for their whole term. I would like to thank the opposition for taking this opportunity in question time today to highlight this government's commitment to rural health services. This is a government that has committed $140 million into upgrades to country hospitals over the next 10 years. The $15 million that we are discussing in detail today is part of that program.

In terms of Waikerie, the scope of the works will be an electrical distribution network upgrade, which is both switchboards and cabling. I am advised that the budget for the project is $705,000 and the proposed tender release is June, a matter of a couple of weeks away, and the proposed completion is by December this year.