State Government tears up ACH’s $200m contract to redevelop Repat Hospital site

PLANS for a $200 million development of the Repat Hospital will be torn up by the new State Government, as it pledges to reopen “a genuine health precinct” on the site.

• Repat masterplan was to show homes, shops, hotel
• Marshall pledges to surgical theatres at Repat Hospital site
• $200m plan for Repat development included futuristic village
• Site sold to Adelaide’s not-for-profit ACH Group
• Save the Repat protesters leave after 161 days camped outside Parliament

PLANS for a $200 million development of the Repatriation General Hospital site will be torn up by the new State Government, as it pledges to reopen “a genuine health precinct”.

The Advertiser can reveal Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade will terminate the contract with ACH Group, a move he insists won’t add extra costs to taxpayers.

The Repat’s future was a major battleground of the March state election, after the former Labor government’s decision to move services off the site under controversial health reforms.

ACH agreed to buy the site for an undisclosed sum in June last year and set to work on a $200 million development masterplan that it said would include “health facilities, education, cafes and accommodation”.

The $200m contract to redevelop the Repat Hospital site at Daw Park has been dumped by the State Government. Picture: Tait Schmaal

It also sought rights to sell parts of the site to other parties.

Mr Wade said the Government was halting Labor’s push for “wholesale development”, which would have “dismantled” the Repat’s role as a key health site for the inner southern suburbs.

He said a new “future planning process” to reopen services would soon be announced.

“Residual” activity still on site included radiology and a sleep centre. Mr Wade said returning use of the hydrotherapy pool, the Ward 18 older people’s mental health facility and surgical facilities were high priorities.

“We will reopen all of them in some form,” Mr Wade said.

“The Government’s intention is that it be a health precinct, and we don’t support it being used as a general residential development ... We would expect to see public health services, NGOs, community organisations and private (operators).”

The plan to sell the Repat and redevelop the site was met with protests. Picture: Sam Wundke

He said new plans could ­include ACH returning with different development ideas.

But Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas said he stood by Labor’s decision to close the Repat and relocate services to the Flinders Medical Centre.

“(The) Liberals committed to reopen the Repat in a range of areas ... particularly in surgical services and we haven’t seen any detail of that,” he told ABC Adelaide on Wednesday.

Mr Malinauskas criticised the Liberal Government’s plan to reintroduce surgical services at the closed hospital.

“That will be incredibly expensive ... we have no detail (like) what surgery will be provided there or when they’re going to start doing it,” he said.

But Mr Marshall was quick in his reply, saying the government was “going to work on this as quickly as possible and we’re going to do this in a safe way”.

“He (Malinauskas) needs to explain to the people of South Australia why they (Labor) were going to allow hotels on that site, residential development on that site — nothing whatsoever to do with keeping this as a dedicated health precinct,” he said.

Rights to develop the site were originally won by NSW-based RSL LifeCare, but went to the Open Daws consortium led by ACH when negotiations fell through.

The ACH development was touted as being able to create hundreds of construction jobs and 250 permanent positions.

Mr Wade said contract details allowed the Government to walk away if the masterplan was not acceptable.

He said no money had changed hands, nor did penalties now apply.

“The former government always wanted to give the impression that the deal was done and everyone just needed to get over it,” he said.

Some protesters spent more than 150 days sleeping outside Parliament House in an effort to save the Repat. Picture: Dave Cronin

“The contract had been signed, but had a condition ... that the Government needed to agree to the masterplan. Termination of the contract is completely within the rights of the Government in the contract Labor wrote.”

Mr Wade said the Government did not need to make any compulsory acquisitions on the site, as was threatened during the state election, because it retained full ownership.

An ACH spokesman said the company had “engaged in good faith in response to a tender to redevelop the Repat site released by the previous government”.

“The newly elected Liberal Government has articulated their plan for a health precinct on the site and we look forward to engaging with them to help realise their plan for the development of this valuable health precinct,” the spokesman said.

“ACH Group also intends to pursue other opportunities to create an age-friendly health and wellbeing precinct.”

The State Government has promised to build a health precinct at the Repat in Daw Park.

Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas, while health minister in January, said Labor’s plan was “renewing the Repat site so it can be used for health and aged-care services and be enjoyed by the entire community”.

He said the masterplan under development would “include a legally binding agreement that ensures any future use of the site complies with strict principles”.

He later said Labor had assessed changes to the masterplan that could not be signed off before entering election caretaker mode, and the deal could fall over after if not progressed.

Former health minister Jack Snelling, when announcing the Repat closure in 2015, insisted all services lost on the site would be replaced by “brand new rehabilitation facilities” elsewhere.