Billion dollar black hole in Liberal National Party Cairns promise

The Liberal National Party has no idea where the extra $1 billion they need to build a new hospital in Cairns will come from, Treasurer Andrew Fraser told state parliament today.

Mr Fraser said the Liberal National Party’s "sham plan" to combine the proceeds of the sale of the Cairns airport with an unfunded Public Private Partnership left their hospital promise with a billion dollar black hole.

"The cost of a 540 bed hospital is conservatively estimated at $1.5 billion.

“The people of Cairns need to know where the missing $1 billion is coming from before their unfunded, on the never-never hospital can be built.

"Where is the missing $1 billion?”

Mr Fraser said the Leader of the Opposition was refusing to guarantee that he would retain the existing Cairns hospital site in public ownership.

"His real agenda is to flog it off to developers to help pay for his unfunded hospital."

“The Liberal-National Party needs to come clean on where the $1 billion is coming from.

“They need to come clean and guarantee that they are not going to sell the esplanade site and they need to tell the people of Cairns and the people of Queensland where the billion dollars is coming from.”

Media Contact: Treasurer’s Office 3224 5982