'Crazy stuff': property owner slams compulsory land acquisition process for new hospital

NSW Health acquired 21.97 hectares of the land on Braemar Drive, Moruya for the new hospital under the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 on April 13.

In announcing the compulsory acquisition of the land, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the acquisition included "delicate and difficult negotiations".

However owner of Braemar Farm Kim Hall said the process of compulsory acquisition was "awful", "disappointing" and "completely unnecessary".

Mr Hazzard directed questions from the Bay Post to NSW Health Infrastructure with a spokesperson saying "as the matter is now before the Valuer-General, it is not appropriate to make any further comment".

Mr Hall said there was "never any negotiation on price" regarding the land.

Mr Hall's family has farmed beef on the land since 1971, and he was excited by the prospect of a level four hospital in Moruya, and was fully supportive of the concept.

In June 2020, Mr Hall wrote to then Bega MP Andrew Constance and offered a portion of the land between 2-4 hectares to NSW Health free of charge.

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"We had always thought a portion of our property was a good location for the new hospital and we still believe that to be the case," Mr Hall said.

Mr Hall said he did not receive a response until November 2020, when NSW Health contacted him asking to meet on site.

"There was no mention of our offer in that meeting," Mr Hall said.

At that meeting, which occurred on November 27 2020, Mr Hall was told the hospital would need between two and three hectares of land. After the meeting he was sent a brochure outlining the process of property acquisition.

In December 2020, Mr Hall contacted NSW Health to again offer the land free of charge.

He received a response on December 16 saying the government could not accept the land as a gift. He said was told the hospital now required nine to 10 hectares of land.

Mr Hall said he heard nothing until April 2021, when NSW Health contacted him with a new plan of the land they wanted - the hospital now required 19.4 hectares.

"It was a complete surprise for the land to double in size again," Mr Hall said.

NSW Health reportedly told Mr Hall this additional land included room to expand into the future.

On May 14, 2021, Mr Hall received a new letter from NSW Health stipulating the hospital required 21.9 hectares of land and included farmland on the floodplain and steep land in the back corner of Mr Hall's property.

The initial brochure given to Mr Hall in November 2020 said land could only be acquired by the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 for a specific purpose and the land had to be used for that purpose.

Both the floodplain and the steep corner section of Braemar Farm cannot be used for the hospital construction and have been left vacant in the hospital masterplan.

Mr Hazzard visited the site on February 8, 2022, and spoke in Moruya.

During the visit, in response to a question by Mr Hall, Mr Hazzard said the area to be acquired was 17 hectares and would not include the flood-prone area.

In December 2021, Mr Hall received a formal acquisition notice for 21.79 hectares of land, including the floodplain and the steep back corner.

"We are losing dams and grazing land... for land they have stated they do not need," Mr Hall said.

"They cannot use it for the hospital and we don't understand why they have taken it despite the Minister saying they were not going to."

In December 2021, Mr Hall was told by NSW Health the acquisition brochure he was given by them in 2020 was not relevant to his situation.

With the process of compulsory acquisition now underway, NSW Health and Braemar Farm each appointed a valuer to assess the land.

"There were significant differences in background information used by NSW Health and the local valuer," Mr Hall said.

Mr Hall said there was "never any negotiation on price" for the land and NSW Health Infrastructure met with him just once - less than 24 hours before the land was compulsorily acquired.

"We never got to sit with them and negotiate what it is worth," Mr Hall said.

"Negotiation just has not occurred.

"I love the idea of the hospital being there, and I think it's the perfect location for it, but the process... the big boys in town don't give a rats.

"We always wanted a hospital there, but the process, it is crazy stuff. It cost everyone."

In response to questions by the Bay Post in relation to the free land offer, the changing amount of land required for the hospital, the negotiation process, the information provided to valuers and the information brochure given to Mr Hall, Mr Hazzard deferred to a NSW Health Infrastructure spokesperson who said:

"Following genuine attempts to acquire the land by agreement, the site for the new $260 million Eurobodalla Regional Hospital has been acquired under the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991."