Federation Council mayor adds to call for hospital masterplan release

Mayor Pat Bourke used his mayoral minute at yesterday's council meeting to call on the NSW government to release details on the proposed Albury Hospital campus redevelopment.

"How can you make decisions unless you have all the facts on the table?" Cr Bourke said.

"You've got to put the horse before the cart. We need that information to go forward and make a good decision.

"They're just asking for more information to make better-informed decisions."

Cr Bourke said the lack of reliable and publicly available information had introduced challenges to getting the community on board with the project.

"It is hard to know where that discussion will go with Albury and Wodonga," Cr Bourke said.

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"Albury wants the information to make a good informed decision, it is as simple as that."

Cr Bourke called the $558 million Border hospital redevelopment a "once in a lifetime opportunity" to improve health services in the region; however, he said, without the plans it was not possible to know where that money would go.

Councillors discussed the subject with Albury Council representatives at a recent meeting of Riverina and Murray Joint Organisation, where mayors from 11 regional councils reportedly agreed on the urgency to build the single-site hospital on the Albury campus.

In the lead-up to the Albury Wodonga Health annual general meeting last night, both Wodonga and Albury councils had aired their respective positions.

Wodonga Council had called on Albury Council to join it to advocate for a purpose-built hospital on a greenfield site.

Albury Council responded on Monday saying it had "insufficient evidence" to justify such advocacy without the release of the masterplan.

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