The campaign for a children’s intensive care unit at Campbelltown is far from over even though Cr Paul Lake’s bid was voted down at Campbelltown Council on Tuesday night.
“I am disappointed that my proposal to use City Deal money was not supported at the council meeting,’’ Cr Lake told the South West Voice earlier today.
He confirmed that he would continue to support the bid to establish a children’s intensive care unit [ICU] as soon as possible.
Cr Lake said he was developing an alternative approach for the initial funding to kick start the ICU and then allowing NSW Health to come to the party.
“You could say it’s a little like reverse cost-shifting,’’ he said.
He wasn’t willing to discuss details of any future moves, but he did mention in passing that “council has $65 million sitting in the bank from the sale of its land at Menangle’’.
His notice of motion on Tuesday night called on council to contribute $5m out of its City Deals funding to establish a five bed ICU at Campbelltown Hospital “as soon as possible’’.
Labor, which rules the numbers on the council 8-6, lodged an amendment opposing Cr Lake’s bid.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“I am not silly, I can see how the vote will go now,’’ Cr Lake said after Labor’s Cr Karen Hunt tabled the amendment, which essentially means the council will ask local MPs to lobby for an ICU.[/social_quote]
Under the City Deal signed off by local government, and state and federal governments earlier this year, councils will receive $15 million to be spent on improving “liveability’’ in their areas.
Councils will put in $7 million of their own money into the City Deal.
Asked by Labor whether Cr Lake’s proposal to use some of the money for an ICU would meet the City Deal criteria, Jeff Lawrence, the council director of City Growth and Economy said that it would be “ineligible’’.
Mr Lawrence said the criteria had not yet been set in stone but as they stood it was his understanding spending it on a children’s ICU would be ineligible because “another government department has funding responsibility for something like that’’.
“It would have been interesting to have been able to test the City Deal eligibility criteria for liveability fund money,’’ Cr Lake said.
