$130m Burnett health hub to begin construction this year
A proposed $130million, privately funded health hub in Kingaroy has received the full backing of the South Burnett council, though one issue is expected to cause a few headaches.
South Burnett
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The South Burnett Regional Council voted unanimously to approve an application for a new $130million health hub in Kingaroy with one councillor calling it “the biggest game changer in the South Burnett in our lifetime”.
During the January 2024 ordinary council meeting, all councillors voted to support the application, which was submitted on behalf of Ethos Medical Group.
The only councillor to abstain was Kirstie Schumacher, who declared a conflict of interest because of her position on the South Burnett Community Hospital management board.
Ms Schumacher left the room while the application for the proposed Lady Bjelke-Petersen Health Hub was discussed.
All councillors expressed enthusiasm for the project, but Danita Potter asked about the parking, which she said would not be built until stage three of the project.
A council officer confirmed the parking situation would likely have an impact, but “there’s not a lot we can do to get around that”.
Councillor Scott Henschen said the inconvenience would be worth it.
“Parking’s going to be an issue when you have a major development like that, you are going to have some inconvenience at some stage,” Mr Henschen said.
“The end result will far outweigh a little bit of inconvenience with parking for the time it’s being built,” he said.
“I think this will be the biggest game changer in the South Burnett in our lifetime.”
The new development will be built around the existing Lady Bjelke-Petersen Community Hospital on the corner of Markwell and Glendon Sts in Kingaroy and include a new community hospital, a residential care facility including aged care accommodation and one-bedroom independent accommodation for those requiring NDIS specialist disability accommodation.
South Burnett Radiology will relocate into the new facility and will offer the region’s first MRI services and operate three theatres as well as a dedicated oncology/dialysis unit.
The hub will also provide on-site childcare and staff accommodation in its second development stage and a multi-level carpark in its final stage, with additional parking spaces for about 200 vehicles.
Nanango LNP MP Deb Frecklington said the hub would “change the health services landscape in the South Burnett”.
The investment is expected to provide additional training opportunities for construction trainees and those who wish to enter the medical workforce.
Diploma of nursing, aged care and first aid courses are also expected to be offered to the local community with practical experience on site.
The completed facility will incorporate some unique elements including large rooftop garden spaces, over 300 sqm of internal garden and walking areas.
The rooftop and garden areas will act as a water capture system to feed onsite storage to supplement water supplies and solar energy will be used to power the shared community spaces.
Upon completion of stage one, the existing buildings will be demolished to make room for stages two and three.
Modelling prepared by the AEC Group predicts the development will provide an initial construction driven stimulus for the regional economy of $156.4million.
The same modelling predicts that once operations mature, the project will provide additional annual stimulus to the regional economy of $67.6million and increase employment by more than 420 full-time positions.
Although no announcement has been made as to when construction will commence, it is expected to start this year.
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