JUNE 18, 2014 \ MARIBYRNONG.STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
news + sport + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTy guide
All a-grow with Vasili
(Wayne Hawkins)
Gardening guru Vasili Kanidiadis has shared the secrets of a successful garden with Maribyrnong residents. The host of TV’s Vasili’s Backyard spilt the beans on traditional and organic gardening basics to participants of a workshop at Braybrook Community Centre on Thursday. The workshop was one of a series planned by Maribyrnong council as part of the Volunteer Braybook initiative. Mayor Grant Miles said the workshops would include activities to get school children learning about the environment and food production. “We want to encourage more people to get involved and become plot holders and garden members, with Vasili’s Backyard being just one feature of our series of workshops,” he said. Residents are welcome to use the Braybrook Community Garden’s communal garden beds to grow fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers. Cr Miles said the garden helped residents get to know one another and build a closer community. Audrey, Vasili AND max
Benjamin Millar
Hospital on life support More than half of Footscray’s Western Hospital needs to be demolished and urgently rebuilt, according to a briefing document prepared for the state government. The Changing Health for a Changing West document, seen by Star Weekly, reveals $550 million will need to be spent at Western and Sunshine hospitals to meet demand from a population expected to pass one million within a decade. The Western Health document warned a failure to rebuild the Western Hospital now
would prove costly in the longer term. “The cost of a five-year delay in commencing this program of work is estimated at more than $100 million,” it stated. Fewer patients would be able to be treated and patients could suffer from treatment in inadequate buildings. By 2026, there would be a shortfall of 543 beds – more than the current size of Western Hospital. Western Health argued the most urgent step was to rebuild the emergency department at Western Hospital to more than double its size. The document flags the need to demolish the dilapidated south block and replace it with a
new in-patient area. New short-stay and acute assessment units at Western Hospital are also needed. Total redevelopment across the two sites would include 448 beds, 39 special-care nursery cots, four new theatres, additional clinics and other services. Speculation is mounting that the state government could make an announcement on funds for rebuilding ahead of the election. But Health Minister David Davis remains tight-lipped about any spending. His spokesman said the Health Department was working closely with Western Health. “Together, they
have developed long-term plans for the health service’s physical infrastructure.” Western Metropolitan Liberal MP Andrew Elsbury said he would lobby the minister on Western Health’s behalf. Greens MP Colleen Hartland said she strongly supported Western Health’s proposal. “There will be a significant detrimental impact on health services to the people of the west if these developments do not occur,” she said. Footscray Labor MP Marsha Thomson said if the government was serious about the rebuild, it would have included funding in its 2014-15 budget.
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By Benjamin Millar