Albury mayor rejects Wodonga call for greenfields hospital push

Wodonga Council last week called for Albury to unite with it in pushing for a fresh hospital for the Twin Cities rather than accepting an upgrade of Albury hospital announced in October.

In response, Cr King on Monday night (February 27) moved a mayoral minute which outlined Albury's position.

She noted that since the announcement, her council had urged the NSW government to hasten the release of the hospital masterplan and at a meeting on Friday 11 Riverina councils backed the Albury upgrade.

Cr King concluded: "We acknowledge our successful joint advocacy to date and respect Wodonga Council's further advocacy agenda however there is insufficient evidence to justify advocacy for a greenfield site given specific details of the proposed Albury hospital campus redevelopment are yet to be released."

There was unanimous support for a six-part recommendation that has the council continuing to seek the masterplan's release, reiterating "strong support" for the Albury upgrade and continuing to "seek assurances" from state governments and Albury Wodonga Health that the redevelopment will meet "current and future needs" of the Border.

Councillor Ashley Edwards said a greenfields site could add much more cost and involve another five to 10 years of planning as opposed to the existing plan which would have initial stages completed in 2027.

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Councillor Darren Cameron warned pursuing a greenfields site was an "act of madness" that would threaten the $558 million allocated to the Albury upgrade by the Victorian and NSW governments which he described as "no small undertaking".

"Politics being what it is, it would not take much for those resources to be speedily reallocated to other seats, particularly seats that are far more marginal than both Benambra and Albury," Cr Cameron said.

Councillor Stuart Baker said it was a "no-brainer" to accept the existing plans, particularly as it would aid long-suffering Nolan House mental health patients.

Deputy mayor Steve Bowen said he was not prepared to put lives at risk by delaying the project.

Councillor Jess Kellahan said pursuing a greenfields site was "utopic" but stressed the need for a masterplan to be exposed.

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