Felix Ellis,Member for Braddon
Rebecca White's panicked reshuffle in an attempt to shore up her faltering leadership has simply generated more questions about Labor's commitment to health, particularly the the Mersey Hospital.
Ms White has handed the Health portfolio – which she previously claimed was the most important – to the newest member of her party room.
Now, Labor's new Shadow Minister for Health needs to confirm if he stands by his comments that this vital hospital in my electorate of Braddon… "exists due to political pork barrelling and parochialism. Now – we all pay for it" – Dr Bastian Seidel (1)
Dr Seidel's tweet provides a link to an article from Martyn Goddard, which says:
"The Mersey should never have been built. It was the child of the worst kind of parochial politics and has remained so ever since," and
"From a policy point of view, the decision to build it made no sense whatsoever."
There is a clear pattern from Dr Seidel, also previously describing the State as having… "Too many hospitals" (2). Which hospitals are on Dr Seidel's hit list? Tasmanians deserve to know if he stands by his record of undermining the Mersey.
The Tasmanian Liberal Government has worked tirelessly to reopen the Mersey Hospital emergency department, despite constant politicking and efforts from the Labor party to undermine our hardworking healthcare staff.
On top of that, Ms White seems to have forgotten about the vital portfolio of mental health and wellbeing, completely leaving it off her rushed list of shadow portfolios – and that's in spite of the last year's experience of the impact of COVID-19.
Labor's "new year, new look" cabinet reshuffle does not fool Tasmanians – it has only further exposed the in-fighting and leadership tensions within Labor.
1 Tweet from September 2016.
2 Tweet from June 2015
