That’s the position of Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy, who has been asked by Member for Lowan Emma Kealy to fund the shortfall.  

Wimmera Health Care Group chief executive Mark Knights said this month that the centre needed $1.5m more than anticipated to integrate its own dialysis and community-based palliative care services.

Speaking outside Parliament House on Wednesday, Ms Hennessy said the government and Wimmera Health Care Group had the same goal of realising the centre’s full vision.

“It’s a really important project. We know that for people in regional Victoria, it’s really difficult to travel long distances to get chemotherapy," Ms Hennessy said.

“The federal government has put $1m in, the state government has put $1m in.

“There has been a budget blowout of about $1.5 million. We have got to get to the bottom of that. It is an important project. We want to support it, but we have to understand what’s caused the blowout first.”

Ms Hennessy said it was not clear to her what had caused the increased costs.

“I don’t know, to be honest. It’s not clear to us yet what has driven the $1.5 million blowout. I have set the department up to work with Wimmera Health Care Group,” she said.

“Everyone is clear on one thing: we want the project to work.”

Demolition works have started at the cancer centre site, with construction due to start in the middle of the year.

Member for Lowan Emma Kealy has urged Ms Hennessy to fund the shortfall and has launched a petition for an extra $1.5m from the state government.

Ms Kealy has raised in parliament the comments Ms Hennessy made in May about promising to help the Wimmera community’s cancer centre fundraising campaign reach its goals.

Ms Kealy has claimed the minister’s prior comments have committed her to help with the current funding issue.

Ms Hennessy said on Monday that her comments referred to a specific shortfall at the time, and not to unforeseen budget issues in the future.

“The community were $200,000 short in their fundraising. I had said we would top that up if they were unable to meet that $200,000.

“I’m determined to make sure the people of the Wimmera have access to cancer services, we have just got to do so responsibly and understand the true nature of the costs of the project.

“Be in no doubt: the people of the Wimmera deserve this service and we’ll support, we have just got to understand the costings first.”

In response to Ms Hennessy, Ms Kealy suggested that either this was a lie or that media organisations covering the event and the hospital patients had got it wrong.

“Another Labor lie,” Ms Kealy tweeted on Wednesday.

Ms Hennessy said she would not fund the shortfall immediately because she had to be responsible with taxpayers’ money.

“I know that every day is a day too late for the people of the Wimmera,” she said.

“We are doing everything we can to make sure the realisation of this project for the community, who have really driven this.”

In May 2015, then Prime Minister Tony Abbott committed $1 million in federal money for the cancer centre.

The community campaign has raised more than $1m, and Wimmera businesses and the Horsham Rural City Council have donated amounts of up to $75,000 each.

In October, Wimmera Health Care Group revealed that the centre would be built on the corner of Arnott and Robinson Street in Horsham overlooking Jadwa Park.