Wodonga mayor Ron Mildren slams funding for Albury hospital work

Ron Mildren was commenting during debate on a fresh advocacy plan following a health forum last week involving councils from across the southern Riverina and North East Victoria.

The council agreed to "facilitate" a meeting involving 16 mayors and council chiefs and those linked to "new infrastructure and planning for the Albury single site hospital to seek a full understanding of all the data, evidence and modelling that was used to inform the current decision".

Cr Mildren said there needed to be a "two-way conversation" to get an understanding of what was occurring and "what things need to be done through government to try to change the circumstances that we find ourselves in".

The Victorian and NSW governments announced last October they would contribute $225 million each to upgrade Albury hospital and consolidate services with the downgrading of Wodonga hospital.

Cr Mildren said Victorian government budget documentation cited $960 million overall.

"That's a global amount that is to cover somewhere between seven and eight different hospital projects," he said.

"When you look at that and work out how that fits together then it is quite obvious there is some shortfalls in that total figure."

Cr Mildren later spoke unequivocally about the kitty.

"Fundamentally the amount of funding that has been put before us is entirely inadequate, inadequate to meet the needs, and I say needs not wishes, but needs of this community and this region," he said.

The recommendation to Monday night's meeting also flagged the regional mayors working together on three aspects.

They were promoting Albury Wodonga Health as the premier health service and best outside Sydney and Melbourne, seeking accessible, timely and equitable health services and having a clear commitment to seeking funding and acknowledging the current level is inadequate.

Councillor Danny Chamberlain stressed the importance of having a united regional front to have governments revisit their hospital approach.

"We need to get this right and we don't need to be fobbed off and told 'sit back, shut up and take what you've been given'," Cr Chamberlain said.

"We need to make sure we represent the people of Wodonga, Albury, the surrounding areas and we push.

"It's easy to fob off the mayor of Wodonga and the Wodonga Council and say 'well they just need to be quiet', but we've got 11 councils on board and I would suggest potentially 13, 14 or 15 councils on board who are all pushing in the same way.

"I think that's going to be a lot harder to ignore."

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