WA Election 2025: Libby Mettam vows to continue fight against Murdoch maternity hospital regardless of result

Libby Mettam will continue to fight Labor’s plans to relocate the new women’s and babies hospital to Murdoch, no matter the outcome of the March 8 election. Speaking alongside a dozen mothers in Kings Park on Thursday, Ms Mettam also rejected claims from Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson that she was spreading “fear and misinformation” about the move — insisting her claims on infant mortality risk came from the Government’s own reports. While Labor has promised to build the replacement for King Eddies near Fiona Stanley Hospital, the Liberals have argued there is a need for the maternity facility to be close to Perth Children’s Hospital in Nedlands. Despite previously declaring the poll would be a referendum on the Government’s decision to move the hospital from Nedlands, Ms Mettam said she would continue to fight it, even if in opposition next term. “How on earth can you accept a decision that will lead to the unacceptable risk of death and disability of newborns for generations to come?” she said. “Our state is better than this. We deserve better. We deserve the best possible healthcare for newborns and their mothers for generations to come. “That is what today is about. It is about highlighting that risk and pointing to the fact that the only location which is considered world-class and which will mitigate that risk, according to the government’s own reports, is the QEII site in Nedlands.” But pushed on how she would fight the decision, given the government’s plans to start work on the hospital this year, Ms Mettam refused to comment, only saying she was focused on March 8. Ms Sanderson said Ms Mettam had misrepresented the government’s business case into the move. “She is leading a campaign of misinformation and is frightening parents and prospective parents, and I’m calling on her to stop,” she said. “We have been very transparent with the reasons why we have located the women’s and new babies hospital site and expanded services to the Osborne Park hospital site.” Ms Sanderson said Ms Mettam’s claims that every baby would need transportation to PCH was false, saying the services would be able to be offered at FSH, with doctors travelling instead. “She continually misrepresents the facts, and she is actively leading this campaign to create, to chase votes and to create concerns,” Ms Sanderson said. Asked if she was using highly emotive language — such as “don’t risk babies’ lives” — to win votes, Ms Mettam defended her choice of word. “The language I am using is reflected in the government’s own reports, these are not the assumptions that I’m making as the leader of the Liberal Party,” she said. “The comments that I have made reflect the advice of the top clinicians of this state.”