Horsham Rural City Council gives $10,000 to Wimmera Cancer Centre Project and waives planning fees

Council also resolved at Monday’s meeting to waive planning fees for Wimmera Health Care Group to build the facility.

Cr Pam Clarke said it was a wonderful outcome for the whole region.

“We decided to contribute $10,000 and smaller councils decided to contribute $5,000,” she said.

“This community have absolutely got behind this project.

“It’s an amazing project for this region. The cancer centre is one of the most important facilities we could have.”

Cr Clarke said the community fundraising effort had nearly reached $1 million.

Cr Tony Phelan said he supported the donation and said Horsham had an obligation to develop a cancer facility as it was a regional centre.

“Neighbouring municipalities have indicated that they think it’s important , and $10,000 is not a lot of money for such an important exercise.”

Cr Sue Exell thank Hindmarsh and West Wimmera shires for their contributions.

“It’s setting an example to us to match those dollars,” she said.

“People with cancer are having to travel such a long way when they are feeling so sick. 

“If we can speed this centre up it would be a win for everybody.”

Cr David Grimble agreed with his fellow councillors and said the centre was needed.

“Unfortunately, a lot of clear evidence points to this region having a higher rate of cancer,” he said.

Cr Grimble said the community had passionately supported the cancer centre project.

“This is by no means a key driver of supporting the centre, but there is a need to attract professional people to our region.

“The centre means they will have a facility where they can do their good work in our community.”

Cr Mark Radford said he had toured the facility where chemotherapy patients currently receive treatment.

“It’s a small room. The need is profound. We can do better than that. In Horsham, we have one of the lowest cancer survival rates.” he said.

Mayor Heather Phillips said she agreed with her fellow Councillors and also said the council recommendation was to waive planning fees as well provide $10,000 cash.

He also thanks the range of community groups that had helped raise money for the centre.

“The Islamic community ran an excellent fundraising night under Rachael’s Wish,” she said.

Cr Robin Barber said the region had been crying out for this facility for years and years. 

“It is disappointing that the community must raise a third of the money considering the billions of dollars going into healthcare,” he said. 

The cancer centre has also funded by the state and federal governments.