Billboards maintain message
A series of billboards around Warragul aim to keep the need for a new West Gippsland Hospital front and centre of the community, particularly in lobbying the state government.
“WTF – Where’s The Funding” community campaign members have vowed they will not let the passion and support of 10,000 people signing a petition be forgotten.
Refusing to lay down after the new hospital failed to attract state government funding in this year’s budget, the community advocacy group has turned its attention to billboards around the town to keep their message alive.
More than 10,000 people signed a petition in March calling for a new West Gippsland Hospital on a greenfield site at Drouin East.
Community action group spokesperson, retired anaesthetist Rob Sinnett, said funding for the new hospital was now very much an election issue ahead of the November state government election.
He said billboards were starting to pop up around town and they wanted to get as many billboards and signs in prominent locations to keep the issue on everyone’s minds.
“Our community needs to keep the issue of the new hospital front and centre during the election campaign.
“We’d love to roll out more red signs to keep awareness up and let our politicians know that this community needs a new hospital and we will continue to fight for it,” he said.
Dr Sinnett said WTF members met with Member for Eastern Victoria Region Harriet Shing again last week but they still want to meet with Health Minister Jill Hennessy.
He said Ms Shing “personally agrees” that a hospital should be built on a greenfield site but they were still waiting for a response from the minister on the government’s position.
Dr Sinnett said they did not want to let the momentum of community support for the petition and campaign fall flat.
“People are passionate about this, they care. They don’t want more money spent on the existing hospital.
“There are people on trolleys in the hospital overnight and operating cases are being cancelled because they haven’t got enough beds.”
Dr Sinnett said the current hospital was past its use-by date, the population was growing and the land was ready for a new hospital to be developed.
WTF member Kerry Elliott said they were hamstrung until they could get a meeting with the minister and had the opportunity to reinforce their case.
The minister has not responded to requests to meet with WTF group members and also has not responded to questions from The Gazette about the outcome of the state government’s feasibility and business case for a new hospital.
Mrs Elliott said she was concerned the 10,000 petition signatures were being ignored so she wrote to the speaker of the Legislative Assembly to ensure the petition would be given due consideration.
The speaker, Member for Bundoora Colin Brooks, told Mrs Elliott that parliamentary rules required the petition to be presented to the minister, which occurred a week after it was tabled.
“Minister Hennessy is not required to respond either to the parliament or to the petitioners under the assembly’s rules. However, sometimes ministers do contact the member who tabled the petition or the petitioners about the issue,” he said.
If elected, a Liberal National Coalition has committed to providing $300 million in its first budget to build a new West Gippsland Hospital on the greenfield site