![Acting premier Michael Ferguson believes Launceston Airport will be "safe and effective". Pictures by Rod Thompson and Paul Scambler Acting premier Michael Ferguson believes Launceston Airport will be "safe and effective". Pictures by Rod Thompson and Paul Scambler](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/196462108/11c49021-770a-464f-8d5d-8696ceff1952.jpg/r0_0_1920_1079_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Acting premier Michael Ferguson believes the helipad at Launceston Airport will provide a sufficient short-term solution for the Launceston General Hospital.
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Helicopters will no longer be able to land at the current helipad at LGH after it failed to comply with the updated regulations from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
Mr Ferguson said the airport was "safe and effective" to manage the new landing site temporarily. However, he stressed that LGH would be receiving a new helipad.
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"We clearly need to see an upgrade for a helipad here in Launceston and I intend as treasurer to make sure that I work with the health department to support them through that, and I intend to ensure that the budget provides an allocation for a future upgrade," he said.
"[The airport is] not a long-term solution. We will find a long-term solution, we will identify a better location for a helipad, and we will build a helipad at Launceston. As treasurer, I have to ensure the budget will provide an allocation to support future infrastructure upgrades.
"It's critical infrastructure. So I'm concerned and I want to see it fixed."
As for a timeframe on when that would occur, Mr Ferguson was unsure and said more planning needs to be done.
"We don't know where it will need to go at this stage, but I do know that we will need a new helipad for Launceston," he said.
"In the meantime, we will ensure that the national regulators' rules are being followed because, as we all know, helicopter safety from recent events would again dictate that there are risks.
"We have to recognise those and CASA is the safety authority. They're the experts.
"We will now be looking for advice from the [health] department about what are the best long-term arrangements noting that as part of the Launceston General Hospital masterplan, there are already the beginnings of planning for a new location, I don't have that advice to hand and when it's available, we then look forward to sharing it."
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