WE'VE been asked to come forward to have our say over something critical to us all but over which we actually have no say.
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That would be the most obvious take on this week's suggestion that residents should try to attend information sessions on the $558 million Albury hospital redevelopment.
Sadly, anyone who attends will probably get a polite interaction, but your concerns will count for nothing. The shameful reality is we haven't had any say.
Those "master plans" that keep getting referred to are as relevant to this community as the price of tea in China.
What's puzzling about the push for the redevelopment, and comments from Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Friday, is how readily it ignores the expert opinion of our medical community that what's been promised is sub-standard for our needs for the decades ahead.
Anyone who dares suggest that the redevelopment won't meet the needs of our community in the future gets a patronising short-shrift predicated on an attitude that seems firmly rooted in "well, you should be grateful for what we're getting".
"We have seen some silly games being played in relation to Albury Wodonga Health," Mr Andrews said on Friday.
"Instead of arguing about where it should be built and all of that stuff, let's just get it done. Let's just put the patients ahead of politics."
"Just getting it done" won't be much good for the Border community when in 20 years' time we have to go through the whole process again.
Wodonga mayor Ron Mildren has shown a will to fight, however fruitless that ultimately might be, for a billion-dollar hospital on a greenfield site.
"It's misunderstanding a whole community, it's misunderstanding the whole population base and the levels of service we have now and we could have if we seek and pursue excellence," Cr Mildren said.
If you don't at least have a go then you'll never know what's possible.
And who knows, that extra bit of fight might just be enough to get someone in power to listen and tick the right box.
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