Mr Iemma, you see, came out yesterday and said his commitment to the people of Tamworth that construction on the new hospital would begin in the current parliamentary term still stood.

“Construction remains on track to begin before the next election,” he told us.

This was the day after Mr Costa released the latest NSW Infrastructure Plan – which covers the next decade – without a word about when construction would begin.

According to the plan, “planning” on the new hospital would occur over the next four years.

We can’t help thinking that if the Government was genuinely committed to beginning physical work on the hospital within the next 30 months, then there would have been a reference to a start date in Mr Costa’s document.

We are equally concerned by the fact that Mr Costa’s infrastructure plan states quite clearly that while the Tamworth Hospital project is listed in the infrastructure plan it has yet to be approved by the State Government.

Although the project was estimated to cost $130 million when it was promised by Mr Iemma in March 2007, the Government has only stumped up $2.1 million to date.

That’s not a lot when you consider the new hospital was first mooted in the last infrastructure plan released in June 2006 – three budgets ago.

Of even greater concern is the fact the infrastructure plan – allegedly a road map for major State Government expenditure for the next decade – doesn’t say a word about radiotheraphy for Tamworth.

We cannot, as a community, afford to wait another decade for this facility.

It appears there is a verbal contract between Mr Iemma and the people of Tamworth on the hospital issue.

We suggest, as with all such

“documents”, it isn’t worth the paper it is written on.

Mr Iemma could end the confusion and uncertainty tomorrow by just announcing a start date for this essential project.