David Kempton Member for Cook has confirmed that tenders have been called for the redevelopment of the St Paul’s and Kubin community primary health care centres on Moa Island in the Torres Strait. 

Funding for the estimated $13.5 million project has been allocated by the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service through the Crisafulli Government’s Timely Investment Infrastructure Maintenance (TIIM) Program. 

“Under Labor, critical asset maintenance projects, like those on Moa Island, were left unfunded after the former government bled the Sustaining Capital Program dry, leaving zero dollars through to 2028,” Mr Kempton said.  

Mr Kempton said the benefits of the two redevelopments would include improved patient safety, experience, and improved quality of service delivery and a stronger ability to attract and retain more staff. 

“The $3.16 billion Timely Investment Infrastructure Maintenance Program (TIIM) is part of the fully-funded Hospital Rescue Plan,’’ Mr Kempton said. 

“This dedicated maintenance program aligns with the Crisafulli Government’s broader goals to deliver safe, contemporary health facilities as part of the Queensland Hospital Rescue Plan.  

“Health staff in the outer regions of Queensland do a great job amid circumstances that are often challenging, so it’s important that we provide the best conditions for them that we can.’’ 

At St Paul’s community, a new primary health care centre will be delivered that will include a procedure room and two consultation rooms. 

Existing, separate staff accommodation will be refurbished as part of the project and extensive landscaping works will be undertaken. 

A temporary primary health care centre will be established on site to allow for the continued delivery of health services while the old facility is demolished and a new building  is constructed. 

At the Kubin Primary Health Care Centre (PHCC), the existing facility will be upgraded to include a new, enclosed waiting room, a new covered meeting area, a new entry enclosure and a new access ramp. 

As part of the project, the health promotion conference room will receive a new roof and covered meeting area, and there will also be a deck extension and enclosure of the upper-level balcony, full internal and external repaint, and landscaping. 

Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Chief Executive Rex O’Rourke welcomed the tender announcement. 

“Our health service includes some of the most remote and isolated communities in Queensland and we are determined to ensure that we deliver quality health services to all our communities, no matter how remote,’’ Mr O’Rourke said. 

Mr Kempton said the Crisafulli Government also had approved business cases to progress for several other health centre redevelopment or replacement projects in the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service region. 

These include primary health care centres at Bamaga, Laura, and Lockhart River, as well as Boigu, Badu and Horn islands. 

These business cases will be progressed as part of the next stage of the Building Rural and Remote Hospital Program (BRRHP), which is part of the Crisafulli Government’s fully funded Hospital Rescue Plan. 

Facts 

• The Crisafulli Government invested more than $3 billion into the new TIIM program in the 2025-26 Budget, uplifting the base capital allowance for maintenance for the first time since 2010, and delivering on previously committed but unfunded projects 

• Tenders have been released for the redevelopment of the primary health care centres at St Paul’s and Kubin communities on Moa Island in the Torres Strait for five weeks before a successful tenderer is announced. 

• The estimated project value is $13.5 million, funded from the Crisafulli Government’s Timely Investment Infrastructure Maintenance Program. 

• Once tenders have been awarded, the projects are expected to be completed by late 2027.