West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has accused the opposition of trying to undermine the new Perth Children's Hospital, but Labor says his swipe is a sign he is rattled and desperate.
The hospital, which was originally expected to open last year, was recently delayed again after the discovery of asbestos in roof panels made by Chinese building materials company Yuanda.
WA Premier Colin Barnett said in his speech at the Liberal state conference on Sunday that Labor's attack on the hospital was "about as low as you can go" considering it was a facility for sick children.
He later told reporters the modern hospital was more than a building, describing it as almost like an "incredibly complex machine" with high standards and quality of service.
"I think when you're talking about a children's hospital and you are talking about extremely ill children and young parents coping with that I think it is a responsibility of everyone, particularly people in public positions, to provide support and confidence for that hospital," he said.
"You can talk about the asbestos issues and the like, but the Labor Party and the Labor leadership has been continually trying to undermine public confidence in our new hospitals, including the children's hospital.
"I think that is unacceptable, I think that's low behaviour in public life."
But opposition spokesman Roger Cook said the premier was merely trying to distract people from his own poor performance.
"Our criticism of the new children's hospital lies solely with the Barnett government," he told reporters.
"What we see here is a premier that's rattled and desperate and he's resorted to vile and vindictive allegations of the opposition simply to distract people from the fact that they have fundamentally mismanaged the new children's hospital project."
