WITH less than seven weeks until the Nepean by-election, candidates are out in force, with perhaps the hottest topic being the state of Rosebud Hospital.
Liberal Party candidate Anthony Marsh, alongside party leader Jess Wilson, announced on Saturday (14 March) that an elected Liberal government would spend $340m to rebuild the hospital.
In a social media post, Marsh wrote “For years as mayor, I stood alongside locals calling for the upgrades our hospital desperately needs”.
“Today, with Jess and the new Liberal Team, we’re drawing a line in the sand. We will get this done.
“To deliver real outcomes, you need to be part of a team that’s focused on results.
“That’s why I’m standing for Nepean — to rebuild Rosebud Hospital and deliver the healthcare our community deserves.”
Rosebud Hospital is a perennial issue for the party with Sam Groth committing $340m to a Rosebud Hospital rebuild by an elected Liberal government in 2022 (Liberals full of promise, all quiet on Labor front, The News 12/10/22). The re-election of Labor saw the commitment fail to eventuate.
It was also a touch-point issue in the 2025 federal election with independent Ben Smith campaigning on the issue (Hundreds of disgruntled locals rally to save Rosebud Hospital, The News 4/2/25).
The Liberal announcement states that the $340m redevelopment will:
- Double current bed capacity, reducing wait times and improving access
- Expand the emergency department, ensuring faster, safer care for local families
- Integrate aged care and specialist medical services, keeping essential support close to home
- Deliver a modern, full‑service hospital designed to meet the Peninsula’s needs for generations.
The Liberal Party are not alone in their support of a hospital upgrade in Rosebud with every other candidate running listing it as an issue they are campaigning for.
Independent candidate Tracee Hutchison hit the campaign trail for the first time on Saturday before her official campaign launch on Sunday (15 May).
Also out on the hustings has been one-time Liberal, now Libertarian Peter Angelico.
The Mt Eliza-based businessman is president of the South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance, but grew up on a farm in Somerville to Italian migrant parents.
Angelico was a Liberal Party member for 20 years before becoming disillusioned and resigning last November.
“I resigned from the party because it doesn’t have the wherewithal to deal with the big issues that we all face,” said Angelico.
“I knew a lot of Liberals who had left the party and joined the Libertarians, so that started some conversations. When I joined, people were telling me my values had represented Libertarian values all along, and I think they were right.
“I see the Libertarians as the sensible. A party of common sense that sticks to their values. That has been the issue with the Liberal Party; their policies don’t reflect their values”.
Angelico had been preparing to contest an upper-house seat for the Libertarians in November before the Nepean by-election initiated a change of plans.
“For me, this is about building the brand of the Libertarians,” said Angelico.
“As a party we intend to contest every seat in November, and I am committed to promoting our party as the sensible alternative.
“I think the political landscape is changing quickly. Labor is obviously bleeding voters, and the Liberals are on the nose, and we have this landscape where the majors are looking at perhaps 30% of the vote each.
“This by-election, with Labor not fielding a candidate, and the rise of parties like the Libertarians and One Nation, it is a raffle on which way the voters will swing.
“What I am telling people is to look at the policies, and not just the fancy slogans.”
First published in the Mornington News – 17 March 2026
