SHATTERED windows behind barb wire, missing rooftiles and graffitied walls are all that remain of a site flagged in 2017 by the state government as a possible location for aged-care facilities.

The Swan District Hospital site was closed in 2015, and though it once seemed destined to benefit the area’s ageing community, progress toward that outcome has grinded to a halt.

City of Swan Mayor Tanya Richardson said more than 20 per cent of the city’s residents are over the age of 55.

“By 2036, the region will need 918 extra aged care beds and 1300 more retirement village units,” she said.

“To prepare for this, we are currently working on other opportunities to cater for the ageing population to mitigate a shortage.”

City of Swan Community Care Services advisory committee president Ron Carey said he was originally hopeful the site was on track to become an aged care facility for the community.

“We’ve actually got a couple of letters from Ben Wyatt who was then the Minister for Lands and Rita Saffioti promising that that’s what they were going to do with it,” he said.

“They worked hard on that with the City of Swan and they rezoned it like we asked them to for aged care, general purpose etc.

“The written promises made by the relevant ministers appeared to be heading in the right direction, until right out of the blue I received a letter dated September 11, 2020 from Ben Wyatt in his role as the then Lands minister.

“He wrote, ‘Thank you for your letter dated, August 7, 2020 regarding various state-owned sites identified for the purpose of delivering residential aged care services.

“‘The former Swan District Hospital has been committed to the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (SWALSC), as part of the Native Title settlement, on the basis that it seeks to deliver a residential aged care outcome on a portion of the site.’”

The aged care outcome tied to the Native Title settlement was corroborated in answers given to parliamentary questions in 2020.

On November 26, 2020 East Metropolitan Region MLC Donna Faragher asked about the government’s intent for the future of the site and whether it impacted City of Swan’s application to rezone it to special use, residential R60, private clubs and public open space.

MLC Stephen Dawson said the answer he would give Ms Faragher was current as of November 11 but was aware of some changes since then.

“The former Swan District Hospital site has been committed to the Noongar Boodja Trust as part of the Noongar land estate under the south west Native Title settlement, on the basis that it seeks to deliver an aged-care outcome on a portion of the site,” he said.

“This does not impact on the application previously lodged with the City of Swan.”

Mr Carey said without community consultation or notifying then-member for Midland Michelle Roberts, Mr Wyatt had taken the site in a new direction.

“So, Ben Wyatt didn’t even tell (Ms Roberts) what he was planning on doing, turned around and offered it to the Boodja Trust which is the trust that looks after the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council,” he said.

“In that letter he said, ‘I’ve offered it to them on condition that they produce an aged care outcome,’ and I thought, ‘Oh well, that’s not so bad – maybe an all-Indigenous aged care facility might get built on part of that 8ha’.

Mr Carey then wrote to Mr Wyatt’s office to learn more about the offer but received a call from the minister’s office refusing further questions and confirming the matter was decided.

“I asked if the SWALSC had accepted  ownership of the old hospital site, only to be told that they had been given until 2026 to decide.

“I asked for confirmation that the offer made was conditional on that same group producing some form of aged care outcome.

“I was told that according to records held at the department there was no such condition connected to the offer.

“I later received that same advice in writing which again was contrary to what was in minister Wyatt’s letter of September 11, 2020.

“So much for honesty and transparency – never mind the broken promises that the various ministers had made and never mind the future needs of our ageing community.”

Echo News asked the DPLH for an update on the Swan District hospital site, confirmation on whether Mr Wyatt publicly advertised the change in plan or not, and whether the offer included any aged care outcomes tied to it and received a single sentence in response from a DPLH spokesperson.

“The Swan District Hospital site has been offered to the trustee for the Noongar Boodja Trust for inclusion in the Noongar land estate, as part of broader commitments under the South West Native Title settlement,” the DPLH spokesperson said.

Further questions were asked to determine whether any progress was being made to produce an outcome for the Swan community.

“The offer is being considered,” the DPLH spokesperson said.

Mrs Richardson said DPLH requested on January 10 this year that the City of Swan comment on revoking the Department of Health’s management order for the site and revesting the land as unallocated crown land.

According to an ABC story by Gary Adshed, former Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Lisa Dobrin said the site was quarantined from external interests until a decision was made on its transfer to Noongar management.

Ms Dobrin cited contamination and illegal access as reasons the offer wasn’t yet accepted and said it needed to be in an acceptable state.

Noongar Boodja Trust has been contacted for comment.