It’s disappointing that Tuesday’s state budget revealed that the new Maitland Hospital would remain in the planning phase for at least another 12 months.
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Many lower Hunter residents would have been waiting keenly to hear whether the Baird government’s 2016/17 budget contained a major funding injection to, finally, kick-off construction at the Metford site.
But those people were left hanging, as the government earmarked only $6.2 million to the project – specifically for planning – despite announcing a record health infrastructure spend of $1.4 billion across the state in the coming financial year.
Not only that, but the government has committed to investing $4.2 billion in the state’s health infrastructure between now and 2020.
It’s been several months since any new information about the long-awaited hospital has been released and the development is beginning to seem, to some observers, like its wheels are spinning.
The government announced its plan to build the facility in 2011.
But that commitment is still little more than a plan five years later.
Meanwhile, the population of Maitland and the surrounding area has continued to grow at a rapid rate – by about five new residents each day.
Labor Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison says that the promise of ground-breaking in the current term of government appears to be a ‘vague promise’.
Going by the apparent lack of progress in this week’s budget papers, it’s hard to argue with her on that front.
During the 2015 state election campaign, the government – including Premier Mike Baird – was cagey in its answers to questions about the progress of the new hospital.
But government representatives often implied, or sometimes they said directly, that an announcement about a start date for construction was just around the corner.
Mr Baird’s party won the election, although the opposition claimed most Hunter seats.
Since then, the project appears to have entered an extended planning phase.
There’s no doubt that Maitland residents would benefit greatly from the promised new hospital.
It’s well and good for political parties to make promises in order to attract the voting public, but when commitments are made, they should be followed through in a timely manner.
