Libertarian Party candidate Peter Angelico has used a short video grab at Rosebud pre-poll to argue that the proposed hospital project for the southern Mornington Peninsula could be funded by redirecting existing infrastructure spending.
Angelico said there was broad agreement among candidates that the hospital was needed, but said the question was how it would be paid for.
The critical thing here is that every candidate agrees that we need the hospital, there’s no question about that.
Angelico Rejects New Taxes
Angelico said there had been “all sorts of talk” about public-private partnerships, commonly known as PPPs, but argued the government should instead look at existing spending.
How are we going to fund it? Well there’s all sorts of talk about PPP.
The way we’re going to fund it is quite simple. We’re going to cancel the Suburban Rail Loop.
Angelico described the Suburban Rail Loop as the “biggest development project in history” and said cancelling it would free up infrastructure funding for coming decades.
It’s the biggest development project in history and that’s going to tuck in more infrastructure money for the next three or four decades.
He said the Libertarian Party’s position was based on avoiding new taxes and using existing funds differently.
We’re all about no new taxes so how do we use what you’ve already got? Don’t come after us for more money, there’s plenty of ways to fund this hospital if you do it right.
Hospital Remains Key By-Election Issue
The hospital issue has remained a major topic during the Nepean by-election campaign, with candidates and parties putting forward different views on how the project should be delivered and funded.
The short grab did not include detailed costings or a full explanation of how savings from cancelling the Suburban Rail Loop would be redirected to the Rosebud hospital project.
