The WA Government is bracing itself for a lengthy legal battle in its bid to recoup millions of dollars from the head contractor of the Perth Children's Hospital (PCH) over long delays to the project.
Treasurer Ben Wyatt today warned the Government's legal dispute with head PCH contractor John Holland would not be resolved any time soon, but hoped it would ultimately be settled out of court.
The hospital will not open until the first half of 2018 at the earliest, putting it more than two years behind schedule.
It is costing the state $6 million for each month the hospital remains empty, but Mr Wyatt said he was "fairly optimistic" much of those costs could be recovered.
"A lot of the delays have been due to John Holland but no doubt they will have different views along the way," Mr Wyatt said.
"The legal dispute will go on for a while … it is large and involves a range of different things.
"My hope is that in due course it won't end up in a long court hearing and hopefully some sort of settlement is entered into."
Mr Wyatt indicated the legal dispute would not be resolved until the hospital opened.
John Holland declined to comment and is yet to respond publicly to a new report, released on Friday, into the lead problem that is continuing to delay the hospital's opening.
That report will result in more major remedial work being undertaken at the hospital to fix that problem — specifically the replacement of brass fittings located in plumbing throughout the facility.
Health Minister Roger Cook said authorities were yet to discuss the report's findings with John Holland, but expected that would happen "pretty swiftly".
Mr Cook said he expected the builder would be liable for the fitting replacement, the cost of which is not yet clear.
"Common sense is that this is a defect which the builder would be responsible for," Mr Cook told 6PR.
John Holland has long maintained that the lead contamination in drinking water was not its fault, claiming it was coming from somewhere outside the hospital.
