The truth about Grafton Hospital funding

From The Daily Examiner letters to the editor pages in April-May 2013.

HE SAID:

Truth about hospital

I take deep umbrage to the statement by Shirley Adams that Janelle Saffin is the only one to do anything for Grafton and the Valley.
Shirley has never been backward in blowing her own trumpet but she knows very well what was achieved in my time as member.
The community centre, South Grafton levee, the hockey complex, the Airport Road, upgrades to state and private schools, a new railway station, the tourist centre, the list can go on.
The Grafton hospital is a good case in point. John Howard asked me to identify a project in my electorate to be funded from the surpluses we were achieving in government. I chose Grafton Base Hospitable because the State Labor Government had been promising upgrades but nothing ever happened.
The estimated cost of upgrade at the time was $18million.
John Howard came to Grafton and announced that the Federal Government would provide $18million to upgrade the hospital but he would give the money to a local committee because he did not trust the State Labor Government to spend the money on the hospital. If John Howard had not made this commitment, there would have been no interest from Labor.
These commitments were made because we had money in the bank, not the legacy from Janelle Saffin - at present $272billion of debt. Interest alone on this debt is $8billion a year. How many Pacific Highways would that fund?
Shirley Adams, Dr Allan Tyson and The Daily Examiner were all at that press conference and heard the statement. None has had the decency to acknowledge that as fact. There was no election called and the money was immediately available.
Remember, hospitals and highways are state responsibilities under the constitution and John Howard was the first prime minister to offer federal help for health, the Pacific Hwy and money to local councils for rural roads.
The very fact that Janelle Saffin claims there was interest accumulating proves the money was in a dedicated account for Grafton hospital and not part of the budget process of the new government.
I am delighted that Grafton Base Hospital has finally been upgraded, but an outbreak of the truth in these matters, instead of blatant politics, would be a pleasant change.

 Ian Causley

Chatsworth

SHE SAID #1:

Unrealised promise

Ian Causley (The Daily Examiner, letters April 23) stated; "John Howard came to Grafton and announced that the Federal Government would provide $18 million to upgrade the hospital but he would give the money to a local committee because he did not trust the State Labor Government to spend the money on the hospital.
The very fact that Janelle Saffin claims there was interest accumulating proves the money was in a dedicated account for Grafton hospital and not part of the budget process of the new government."
Yes, John Howard was reported as making that announcement on October 10, 2007.
Four days before he announced his intention to call a federal election and seven days before the writs were issued, Parliament dissolved and the caretaker period commenced. (Australian Electoral Commission 2012).
Additionally, this promised hospital upgrade funding was not included in the Howard Government 2007 budget papers, in October there was no "local committee" for it to go to if it had actually been allocated and, on October 11, 2007 the NSW Government rejected this "election promise" (ABC News).
Then on November 24, 2007 the Coalition lost government and John Howard lost his seat. So Mr Causley's $18 million existed only as an unrealised promise and it is wrong of him to suggest otherwise.
Especially as in June 2008 the then NSW Nationals MP for Clarence identified federal Grafton Hospital upgrade funding as being provided by the Rudd Government.

Judith M. Melville

Yamba

SHE SAID #2:

The real truth

It is a bit sad that former member for Page Ian Causley (DEX April 23) feels the need to claim credit from retirement for delivering the Grafton Base Hospital redevelopment.
I acknowledge that Ian, after years of inaction, elicited an $18 million commitment out of former prime minister John Howard in the dying days of that government.
However, that pledge was unfunded and had strings attached. Mine was funded and came with no strings.
The big difference here is that my 2007 election commitments of $18 million for stage one and $5 million for the Grafton GP Super Clinic, made with former prime minister Kevin Rudd's full support, were rock solid.
I was the politician who actually delivered the goods. Federal Labor's $18 million was in the 2008-09 budget, the money went to the then NSW Labor Government, where it earned $1.2 million in interest while the project was being planned.
Ian is plainly wrong when he suggests that the money was in some dedicated federal account. It was not.
I lobbied former NSW health minister John Della Bosca for the interest to be directed to the project, which was unprecedented, and for his government to contribute a further $500,000 to planning.
I got both for our community.
I made sure, with Dr Allan Tyson's attention to detail and Shirley Adams OAM's vigilance, that a total of $19.7 million in funding was wisely spent on building a first-class emergency department, operating theatres, and some extras.
Ian's attack on Shirley, who is widely respected as one of the Clarence Valley's leading citizens, was unwarranted and petty.
He should know that it is not just about the funding.
Hard-working MPs then work with their community to bed down the project with bureaucrats, construction managers and staff.
This is how we, as a united local community, fought for and won first-class health facilities offering high standards of patient care.
And for the record, I secured and delivered a further $10 million for stage two of the Grafton Base upgrade, made up of $6 million from this federal government and $4 million from the then NSW government.

Janelle Saffin MP

Federal Member for Page