OVER the last couple of weeks, there has been growing speculation about a potential new Mildura Base Public Hospital being built on No. 1 Oval.
Long-established community and sporting groups have been vocal in their dissent.
By mid-week, there were rumours put to me that the No. 1 Oval site was a done deal and the Victorian Government must be stopped!
Let me put paid to all that.
As far as I’m aware, no-one with any authority or influence is gunning for No. 1 Oval to be the site of the potential new hospital. No prizes for guessing why.
There are obvious problems associated with it, including traffic congestion (imagine the bottleneck at the roundabouts? It’s bad enough as it is) and the displacement of at least a dozen local community and sporting groups, along with decades of tradition.
I note, however, that No. 1 Oval is the preferred site of the Liberal candidate for Mildura.
It was his public statement, identifying the site and backing it in, that has led to the public fear and concern.
But don’t worry.
I can say without fear of contradiction that the chances of the Victorian Minister for Health, Martin Foley, calling the local Liberal Party candidate for advice on our hospital are very low.
If the Victorian Government was inclined to take its advice from the Liberal Party, it would not have brought the hospital back to public management in 2020.
Had that not happened, we would not have had an incoming public hospital management team assess the building as being unfit for purpose and, in turn, we would not have had the expert authority needed to lobby for a new hospital building.
In other words, all the success that our hospital has achieved since 2018 has been precisely because the Victorian Government does not take its advice from the Liberal Party. And that’s not likely to change anytime soon.
And just quietly, for the record, I’m gunning for Fifteenth Street.
