WA Spends $1.5B on Hospitals, Amid Budget Uncertainty

0:00It's April 13th. This is Sydney News today, driven by AI. Western Australia's government just dropped another $1.5 billion on health infrastructure, pushing total hospital spending to $5.5 billion over the next four years. This comes ahead of the 2026 27-state budget next month, announced right by the new women and babies hospital site in Murdoch. Earlier moves set the stage, like scrapping the Perth Convention Center upgrade last November, to kick off a $1.5 billion building. Hospitals fund. Then in August, they added a $50 million pot for fixing up old hospitals, and now this fresh cash tops it off. Minister John Kerry says, a third of the new money bokes up that fund to $2 billion total while $214 million, $100,000 goes to maintenance and $36,200,000 starts a central office to manage 900 new beds coming online. Position leaders like Libby Metham call it a convenient excuse, slamming the lack of

1:01details and blaming past budget blowouts on the government, not global drama. Kerry points to construction pressures from the Iran situation spiking fuel costs, and even Premier Rodger Cook admits he can't lock in prices like the $1.8 billion hospital tag amid all this uncertainty. Details will roll out in the budget soon, but for now, it's clear WA is gearing up to shield big projects from rising costs before they hit harder.