Growth in site claims
Newcastle Herald
Thursday March 24, 2011
A BUS stop turned into a barney over land at Waratah earmarked for a cancer research centre as the major parties pressed the flesh in Newcastle, three days out from the state election.Yesterday it was a battle to claim credit for the idea of a cancer centre on land behind the Calvary Mater Newcastle.Labor and the Coalition have committed to set the vacant land aside for the centre.Hunter Medical Research Institute would be a major player in the project, as would the Mater hospital, through its oncology services.But the idea was suggested in an independent review of the Mater's melanoma unit that was commissioned in 2009 and released in 2010.The review said the hospital was the ideal location for a small, US-style cancer centre.Hunter and Science and Medical Research Minister Jodi McKay said yesterday that Hunter Water had agreed to hand over the land to the Hunter New England Health network.The deal was secured before the government went into caretaker mode and would allow planning to start .NSW Nationals leader Andrew Stoner visited the site yesterday for a brief stop in a whirlwind campaign bus tour.He met with Hunter Liberal candidates to spruik the Coalition's commitment to the cancer centre project.More election news Pages 16, 17
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