The feds are on and James Cook U has a plan, but there’s a delay

In the lead-up to last year’s election campaign, the coalition and Labor both promised funding that would help elevate Cairns Hospital, to university status.

They committed to pay for a site, adjacent to the city’s existing hospital to house James Cook U’s clinical school and research (CMM January 22 2019).  This would make Cairns’ a level six hospital, defined as having a, “strong university affiliations and major teaching and research commitments in both local and multi-centre research.”

But nothing appears to have happened and the local Cairns Post is cross – blaming the state government for not committing a separate $165m to the project. Perhaps Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is waiting until closer to the state election, on October 31.