Victorian government's odd reply on 83-page master plan it fostered

Benambra MP Bill Tilley this week spoke of the December 2021 document in parliament in contrasting its recommendation for an entirely new hospital to efforts of bureaucrats to instead have the existing Albury hospital upgraded.

The Border Mail on Friday November 3 put a series of questions to Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas through her office.

We asked if she was concerned about issues raised by Mr Tilley and her response to his suggestion the Victorian government was "either hoodwinked or turned a blind eye to what was happening under its nose" through the planning process.

Ms Thomas declined to reply directly to these queries as well as a number of others.

Instead a government spokesperson said: "The member for Benambra knows full well that the document he claims to have uncovered from 2021 is not a master plan."

Mr Tilley suggested it was absurd to argue the document was not a master plan.

"The minister needs to have a good, hard look at the people who are providing advice to her - to say what was produced in 2021 wasn't a master plan is absolutely ridiculous," Mr Tilley said.

"The documents released from the NSW Parliament continuously refer to the master plan process and carry the fingerprints and names of senior staff from both the Victorian and NSW health departments who were involved and sometimes authored those agendas, meeting notes and documentation.

"The document itself is called a master plan and carries far more detail than the rubbish that was trotted out a few weeks back.

"In all of those documents it's called a master plan.

"Are they saying that the consultants, Conrad Gargett were incompetent?

"Were they saying that they could afford to waste the money, that some suggest amounts to millions of dollars, on something that would never be used?"

Mr Tilley also said: "I'm hearing that there will be operating theatres spread across the various campuses."

Ms Thomas' office did not answer The Border Mail's question about whether there would be operating theatres retained at Wodonga hospital or if the Victorian government would conduct its own geotechnical survey on the suspect ground at Albury hospital.

"While the Opposition play politics, we are joining NSW in getting on with the delivery of this single-site hospital clinicians have been calling for, ensuring the border community has the care they need, closer to home for generations to come," the spokesperson said.

A question about whether Ms Thomas was concerned NSW Health Minister Ryan Park could not nominate how many beds would be in the upgraded Albury hospital also were unanswered.

Mr Tilley and Ms Thomas met on Thursday, but the Liberal MP has been left nonplussed at the minister's outlook after having raised his concerns.

"This week in the parliament I asked for honesty, that message seems to have been lost here," he said.

Also in parliament this week, Opposition Health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier moved a motion in the Upper House on the hospital issue recording concerns about the Albury hospital ground, building movement and lack of remedial work.

It calls on the government to "demand that an on-site, thorough geotechnical study assessing the risks and additional costs of building a proposed multi-storey building on this site is completed before releasing any taxpayers' money".

The government is comfortable with the delay, as controls, including monthly inspections, are in place to ensure the safety of patients and staff.

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