The Grafton Base Hospital Community Committee will continue pressuring the NSW Government to produce the money for the redevelopment of Grafton Base Hospital (GBH).

The committee, which is now acting independent of the Grafton Chamber of Commerce, announced its campaign in early June.

The committee was due to unveil a five-metre long ‘WHERE’S THE MONEY PREMIER?’ banner in Grafton’s city centre (after the Independent’s print deadline) on Wednesday.

Committee spokesperson, Ron Bell, said the banner is designed “to remind locals and, more importantly, the Premier and the local state member [Chris Gulaptis] that their promised funding to commence planning and construction for the redevelopment of Grafton Base Hospital has still not been allocated”.

Mr Bell said “a minimum of $30m to $40m was needed for the planning work” and that the money “must be included in the state budget due later this year”.

He estimated that the redevelopment “was at least a ten-year project from beginning to end”.

Meanwhile, Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis has consistently maintained “that all election commitments will be met”.

“It will take time and a number of stages to complete the $263million rebuild,” he said.

Correction

In last week’s newspaper, in the story Committee draws battlelines with state over GBH, it was stated that the Grafton Base Hospital Community Committee was “acting impendent of the Grafton Chamber of Commerce.

This was incorrect (and a typing/auto correct error) – it should have read that the committee was acting “independent” of the chamber.
Ironically, one meaning for impendent is: “being near at hand”.